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Dr. Amy Acton will be Ohio’s next governor, defeating her Republican opponent Vivek Ramaswamy in a heated race that has gained national attention in recent weeks over a controversial attack-ad against the Democrat.

On Tuesday evening, AP called the race for Acton, who previously served as the director of the state’s health department during the COVID-19 pandemic, reporting that she won 50.8% of the vote with 86% of votes counted. Ramaswamy, who was backed by President Donald Trump, earned 45.9% of the vote, according to AP.

Acton’s victory marks the first time in two decades that Ohioans have elected a Democrat to the governorship. It represents a significant blow to Republicans, who initially liked their chances in a state that the President won by double digits in the 2024 election.

Ramaswamy attack ad sparks widespread controversy

The race, which was an open battle since current Republican Gov. Mike DeWine was restricted from running again because of term limits, took a striking turn in the lead-up to Election Day. The Cook Political Report had previously rated the race as “Lean Republican,” but later adjusted its analysis and marked it a “Toss Up.” On Oct. 23, though, the Cook Political Report shifted the race slightly in Democrats’ favor to “Lean Democrat.”

The election forecaster attributed its latest assessment in part to an attack ad released by  Ramaswamy’s campaign in October. The ad featured Acton’s estranged mother, who lost custody of Acton and her brother in 1978, the same year that their stepfather was indicted on charges of raping Acton when she was a child.

It sparked backlash across the political aisle. Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, described the ad as “a despicable low.”

“It’s not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother’s husband into a political talking point,” Stearns said in a statement. “This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core—a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants.”

The state’s current Republican governor said that the ad was “deeply, deeply troubling” and “just plain wrong,” calling for Ramaswamy’s campaign to rescind it. DeWine maintained, nonetheless, that he still endorsed Ramaswamy and “the whole [Republican] ticket.”

But Ramaswamy, who launched an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination in the 2024 election, doubled down on the ad. Both Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance defended him in the wake of the outrage.

Democrat Annie Andrews has defeated GOP Sen. Darline Graham in the race for the Senate seat long held by the late Lindsey Graham.

Andrews’ victory was a stunning result in a deeply red state that has not elected a Democratic senator this century. In the weeks leading up to Election Day, polling indicated that the battle, which months ago was expected to be a win for Republicans, had become a toss-up.

AP called the race after Andrews won 50.6% of the vote with 93% of the vote counted by Tuesday evening. Darline Graham, meanwhile, earned 47.2% of the vote.

"South Carolina, you have shown the nation — in an era of partisan divides, of vitriol and namecalling, in a politics dominated by billionaires, special interests, and insiders in Washington — that we will not bow down," Andrews said in a statement after AP called the race. "We will not back down. And we will chart our own course." 

Political experts previously told TIME that the stakes of the South Carolina race changed significantly after former Sen. Lindsey Graham died in July. A month before his death, the longtime Republican Senator clinched the party’s nomination by double digits and was widely expected to win re-election in November.

After his death, his sister, Darline Graham, was appointed by South Carolina’s governor to take over the rest of his term. President Donald Trump repeatedly urged her to run for a full term, and she later announced that she would run for the seat in this midterm election.

But the field to replace Lindsey Graham as the GOP nominee was crowded, and no candidate in the special Republican primary in August earned enough of the vote. The two candidates who received the greatest portion of the vote—Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman—advanced to a runoff election later in August, which Darline Graham won by less than 5 points. 

Experts told TIME that the primary divided the Republican party, with some of Norman’s supporters expressing their displeasure with Darline Graham and indicating that they may not vote for her in the general election. Norman himself said that, while he planned to vote for Darline Graham, he had no intention of joining her on the campaign trail.

Darline Graham criticized over lack of political experience

Darline Graham, who had never held an elected office prior to taking over her late brother’s seat, has also been criticized for her minimal political background, particularly after what many described as a poor debate performance against Norman ahead of the runoff over the summer. When she was asked a question about Taiwan and the South China Sea, Darline Graham replied by saying “I’m not that informed on national security,” sparking backlash from members of her own party.

Adding to the pressure on Darline Graham’s campaign is the fact that the political environment for Republicans across the country has been challenging in this election cycle. Typically, the party in the White House loses seats in midterms, and Republicans were also dealing with a historically unpopular President, with Trump’s approval rating falling to 30% last month, according to the Pew Research Center.

Andrews, a pediatrician, secured the Democratic nomination in June, winning the primary by double digits. She secured bipartisan endorsements leading up to Election Day, including from two former governors in the state, one of whom is a Democrat and the other a Republican, who were featured in a campaign video for Andrews.

Scott Huffmon, a professor of political science at Winthrop University and director of the Center for Public Opinion & Policy Research, previously told TIME that Andrews was running a strong campaign, saying that she “gins up excitement wherever she goes.”

Political experts have also pointed to Andrews’ fundraising success, while Darline Graham’s campaign faced fundraising challenges.

This was Andrews’ first Senate campaign, but she previously launched an unsuccessful bid for the House, when she ran against Rep. Nancy Mace in 2022.

The Senator-elect also makes history as the first woman from South Carolina to be elected to the upper chamber. While Darline Graham is currently serving in the Senate, she wasn’t elected to the role, but rather was appointed by the state’s governor.