Ohio Democratic Candidates Draw Scrutiny Over Transgender Issue Stances

Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton and U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur have recently faced criticism for remarks and actions regarding transgender people, drawing fire from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups. The backlash comes as Election Day approaches, impacting both candidates’ standing.

Dr. Acton, a candidate for governor, expressed agreement with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upholds the constitutional right of states to prohibit transgender women and girls from participating in women’s and girls’ sports. She also told The Blade newspaper that she does "not support boys playing in girls sports." This stance led Equality Ohio to reduce Acton’s rating on their 2026 Candidate Scorecard from an "A" to a "B," according to the organization. Acton’s campaign website states her commitment to ensuring every Ohioan, including members of the LGBT community, receives equal protection under the law and that she stands against discrimination. Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy also stated the Supreme Court ruling was a "win for common sense."

U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the longest-serving woman in congressional history, has also come under fire for a recent ad. In the advertisement, Kaptur touted her vote for H.R. 2616, a bill that would mandate schools to disclose a student's transgender status and could jeopardize school funding for teaching concepts related to gender ideology. In her ad, Kaptur stated she voted "with Republicans to keep transgender ideology out of our schools because parents know what’s best for their kids, and boys should not play in girls’ sports." Kylie Blitzer, a spokesperson for Kaptur’s campaign, defended the vote, explaining that Kaptur supports parents having more insight into their children’s education and sought to "give parents more say in the classroom."

Kaptur was one of only eight Democratic members of Congress to vote for H.R. 2616 earlier this year; the bill is now under consideration in the U.S. Senate. Kaptur is running against Republican candidate Derek Merrin, whom she narrowly defeated in a close race during the 2024 election. Merrin, a former state legislator, had previously voted in favor of an Ohio law enacted in 2024 that bans transgender women and girls from K-12 and college sports. This Ohio law passed after Republican lawmakers overturned Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto.

In response to Kaptur’s ad and actions, Lucas County Stonewall Democrats sent a letter to Kaptur, calling for the ad's removal. The group stated that there is "no difference" between Kaptur and Merrin regarding their positions against the LGBTQIA+ community. Equality Ohio assigned Kaptur a "D" grade and Merrin an "F" on their candidate scorecard, announcing they had "decreased the scores of Amy Acton and Marcy Kaptur in our 2026 Candidate Scorecard following anti-transgender remarks."

Equality Ohio emphasized that "transgender Ohioans should not be used as political talking points." The advocacy group also stated that Ohioans are concerned with rising costs, securing housing, food, and medical care, and that "real leadership should be focused on economic concerns," urging against engaging in "culture war bait."

Brent Rabie, Executive Director of Equality Toledo, noted that transgender issues have become the "latest hot-button topic in politics," drawing parallels to earlier debates over gay marriage. Rabie added that using any community for "political points or to be a political punching bag" is dangerous. Dara Adkison, Executive Director of TransOhio, described the political advertisements targeting transgender people as "exhausting and infuriating." Adkison asserted that "trans people aren’t an ideology," but are individuals existing in Ohio, and said that seeing their community as a "targeted minority group" in the current election cycle was "a lot."

A report from the Human Rights Campaign indicates that 11.2% of people in Ohio identify as LGBTQ+.

The discussion around transgender issues extends to other races. The Senate Leadership Fund released an ad claiming former Democratic Ohio U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown "supports sex change surgery for kids." Brown, who is in a competitive Senate race against Ohio Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, responded with his own ad. Brown’s ad asserted that in Ohio, it is "against the law to perform transgender surgeries on kids." PolitiFact subsequently rated the Senate Leadership Fund ad as "false," reporting no evidence Brown supported "forcing gender-transition surgery for children."

Beyond transgender issues, support for same-sex marriage has seen a decline. A new Gallup poll from earlier this year revealed that support for gay marriage is down six percentage points from its peak in 2022 and 2023. Currently, 65% of people support same-sex marriage, a decrease from 71% in the prior two years. Republican support for legal same-sex marriage has notably dropped from 55% in 2021 and 2022 to 37% this year, while Democratic support has remained stable at 87%. Rabie affirmed that "same-sex marriage is still legal."

The U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in 2015 through the Obergefell v. Hodges case, which originated in Ohio. However, after the 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested the Supreme Court should reconsider other landmark cases, including Obergefell.

In response to these concerns, Ohio Equal Rights is working to place two amendments on next year’s ballot. One amendment aims to remove the same-sex marriage ban currently in the Ohio Constitution. The second proposed amendment would add language to the state’s constitution to protect citizens from discrimination based on various factors, including race, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression.