Dem activists blast Amy Acton over boys in girls’ sports

Despite all the glowing coverage from Ohio’s mainstream media press corps, Buckeye State liberals seem to be in the midst of a Civil War.

The latest fracas seemingly began when Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton told The Blade that “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.”

The seemingly simple statement prompted a swift backlash from progressives in the state. The Ohio Democrats Progressive Caucus issued a terse statement, which it subsequently deleted.

The Ohio Democrats Progressive Caucus is unhappy with Amy Acton over a statement she recently saying she does not support "boys playing in girls sports," and calling the issue settled law in Ohio.

The group says that statement will cost her votes and volunteers. pic.twitter.com/FO93B0WN09

— Andrew Tobias (@AndrewJTobias) July 9, 2026

To placate the various factions, social media scuttlebutt suggests Acton held an “LGBTQ+ Community Conversation with ODP and Team Acton!”

Arienne Childrey, described in February as a “trans candidate in rural Ohio,” who is seeking to unseat state Rep. Angie King, R-Celina, in the Ohio House District 84, said, “the Acton campaign made no commitments to any sort of action to repair the damage, and they completely refused to offer a retraction of her prior comments.”

“This is not just a disagreement about sports,” Childrey said in a post shared on X by a Signal Ohio reporter. “When a candidate characterizes trans girls as ‘boys in girls’ sports, it invalidates the basic identities of every single trans person in Ohio.

“Furthermore, our voices were actively suppressed,” Childrey added. “Myself and a number of other LGBTQ+ leaders were refused entry into a meeting we had been invited to attend. One trans advocate – Ciara Keeton – was booted from the meeting entirely just for pointing out the campaign’s refusal to allow trans leaders into the room. When we were digitally locked out, it took the Chair of the Pride Caucus calling my personal phone and putting me on live speakerphone inside the room just for my voice to be heard.”

Childrey extended “a direct invitation to Amy Acton-not simply her campaign team-to schedule a real call with our community.”

Acton, once described as “Ohio’s Anthony Fauci,” served as the director of the Ohio Department of Health before quitting amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Acton campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Does this really sound like someone who understood the devastation caused by her decisions? Many Ohio kids have yet to recover from the learning loss. Many more Ohioans were unable to put food on the table. Amy Acton laughs about it like it was no big deal. pic.twitter.com/crNswVNFPA

— Senator Rob McColley (@Rob_McColley) July 28, 2026

The Buckeye Flame also reported that Equality Ohio, an LGBTQ+ advocacy and legal aid group, changed Acton’s grade on its 2026 Candidate Scorecard from an “A” to “Pending.”