Equality Ohio released their album 2026 Candidate Scorecardanalyzing 30 statewide races, including elections for governor, U.S. Senate, attorney general, secretary of state, the Ohio Supreme Court, and some statewide races for the Ohio Legislature.
“Ohio’s LGBTQ+ communities are counting on voters to side with them in this election,” Dwayne Steward, CEO and executive director of Equality Ohio and the Equality Ohio Education Fund, said in a statement. “This scorecard is a tool that helps people see who is committed to equality and who is standing in the way. Every vote is a statement about the kind of Ohio we want to build.”
Candidates were rated on the AF scale based on criteria related to their legislative experience (if applicable), career record, public statements, campaign platforms and other achievements.
Seven candidates were named “Equality Champions” and received an A+ rating:
- Mike Baker (House in Ohio)
- Jennifer Brunner (Ohio Supreme Court)
- Arienne Childrey (House in Ohio)
- Christine Cockley (Ohio House)
- Jeff Givan (Ohio House)
- Greg Landsman (US House of Representatives)
- Allison Russo (Secretary of State)
- Emilia Sykes (US House of Representatives)
Candidates who received an A rating are: Amy Acton (Governor), Stacie Baker (Ohio Senate), Sherrod Brown (U.S. Senate), Rose Lounsbury (Ohio Senate), Joe Miller (Ohio Senate), Mike Roberto (Ohio Senate), Mark Sigrist (Ohio House), Dan Troy (Ohio House) and Marilyn Zayas (Ohio Supreme Court).
20 candidates were given an F grade, meaning they have “poor performance and may harm the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people”:
- Gary Click (House in Ohio)
- Eric Conroy (US House of Representatives)
- Denise D’Angelo (House in Ohio)
- Steve Demetriou (Ohio State Senate)
- Mike Dovila (House in Ohio)
- Keith Faber (Ohio Attorney General)
- Haraz Ghanbari (House in Ohio)
- Dan Hawkins (Ohio Supreme Court)
- Matt Huffman (Ohio House)
- Jon Husted (U.S. Senate)
- Mike Kahoe (House in Ohio)
- Angie King (House in Ohio)
- Brian Lorenz (House in Ohio)
- Derrick Merrin (US House of Representatives)
- Colleen O’Donnell (Ohio Supreme Court)
- Vivek Ramaswamy (Governor)
- Michelle Reynolds (House in Ohio)
- Robert Sprague (Ohio Secretary of State)
- Jim Thomas (House in Ohio)
Some of the candidates who received failing grades have been supporters of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in recent years.
Click is a Baptist pastor who was trained by the Center for Christian Virtue to defend Ohio’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors and is currently co-sponsoring a bill under consideration to protect parents who reject their transgender children.
King co-authored a bill banning drag queens from performing in front of minors and restricting transgender people from performing in places such as locker rooms. 🔥
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