Associated Press calls Ohio's governor race for Democrat Amy Acton

The Associated Press called Ohio's governor race for Democrat Amy Acton late Tuesday night, after election-night returns showed her holding a lead over Republican Vivek Ramaswamy. The call, reported in the AP's own account of the race, came as Acton stayed ahead in the count she had led all evening.

Poliwave's tracker, which draws on AP data, showed Acton ahead 53.6% to 43.4% early in the evening and 50.7% to 46.0% late in the evening. The race is for the open seat held by term-limited Republican Mike DeWine.

The AP call alone does not finish the matter for this question. It settles only when the AP, Fox News and NBC all call the race for the same candidate. If they do not, the result follows official certification. Only the AP call is reported so far.

Acton, Ohio's former health director, had been favored through the closing weeks. Ohio had not elected a Democratic governor since 2006, so a win would end a long Republican run in the state's top office. The campaign turned contentious over a Ramaswamy ad featuring Acton's estranged mother. On Oct. 28, Axios reported that a Republican group's internal poll put Acton eight points ahead, up from two points earlier in October. That poll was one group's private survey, and Axios reported it as evidence the ad was backfiring on Ramaswamy.

Bets on the race moved sharply toward Acton on election night, and by early Wednesday they treated her victory as certain, though the question has not formally resolved. The reason for that shift is the election-night count and the AP's call.

Official certification is the remaining step. Ohio's secretary of state says the official canvass is completed approximately three weeks after the election. Until then, the outstanding network calls and the final tally remain to be checked against the conditions that decide the question. The question asks only whether the Democratic nominee wins, and independents would not count as Democrats.