Ohio’s Democratic candidate for governor loses top LGBTQ+ grade over anti-trans remarks

This story originally appeared on The Buckeye Flame.

Ohio LGBTQ+ advocacy and legal aid organization Equality Ohio has changed its grade of Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton from an “A” to “Pending” on its 2026 Candidate Scorecard.

The change follows comments that Acton made to the Toledo Blade on June 30 regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to uphold state bans on transgender athletes. Rather than voicing disagreement with the decision or commenting on Ohio’s current ban on transgender athletes, Acton employed anti-transgender language.

“I do not support boys playing in girls sports. This is already settled law in Ohio, and as governor I will enforce and uphold the law,” Acton said. “As a doctor, public servant, and a mom, I will always stand up for fairness and protect kids’ health and safety … ”

Equality Ohio announced the change in Acton’s grade on Tuesday alongside an explanation (printed below in full):

“Comments like the ones recently made by Dr. Amy Acton in the Toledo Blade about transgender Ohioans are extremely harmful. They reflect a broader pattern of scapegoating trans people often based on data that simply isn’t true. National and Ohio polling consistently show voters reject this kind of scapegoating and instead want leaders focused on affordability, jobs and freedom from discrimination.

As a result, we have updated Dr. Acton’s status in our 2026 Candidate Scorecard from an ‘A’ to ‘Pending’. This reflects our belief that accountability is still possible, and that the door remains open at this time. Should Dr. Acton choose to take meaningful steps forward, we will update the status accordingly.

We remain committed to working with any candidate willing to do work with LGBTQ+ communities to move forward equality in Ohio.”

In July, Acton added language to her campaign website stating, “All Ohioans deserve to be treated fairly and equally under the law. As governor, I am committed to standing up against discrimination and ensuring that every Ohioan – including members of the LGBT community – receives equal protection under the law.

”However, the next sentence did not include protections for gender identity or gender expression: “I will push for anti-discrimination laws so Ohioans aren’t unjustly fired from their job or denied housing, other public accommodations or equal pay because of their race, gender, sexual orientation or religion.”

Acton’s opponent, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, received an “F” on the scorecard, indicating that they have a “poor record and likely to harm LGBTQ+ civil rights.”

Ari Childrey – an out transgender candidate for the Ohio House who has publicly spoken out against Acton’s comments – said that Equality Ohio “made the right call” with the change in Acton’s grade.

“This just proves that no candidate – I don’t care what party you’re in – gets a free pass to weaponize harmful rhetoric against trans youth,” Childrey told The Buckeye Flame. “I respect the integrity of this scorecard. The door is always open for Dr. Acton to step up and actually put in the work to fix her comments, but let’s be clear: The burden of proof is completely on her campaign right now to show they actually care about our community.”

The Buckeye Flame reached out to Dr. Acton’s campaign staff on July 6 to schedule an interview regarding her candidacy and received this response: “Dr. Acton doesn’t have room in her schedule for this right now. We will keep in touch and circle back with any openings.”

Ignite Action

• To register to vote or to check your voter eligibility status in the state of Ohio, click here.
• To find contact information for your Ohio state representative, click here.
• To find contact information for your Ohio state senator, click here.
• If you are a young LGBTQ+ person in crisis, please contact the Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor.
• If you are a transgender adult in need of immediate help, contact the National Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860