HRC is highlighting the anti-LGBTQ records of U.S. Senate candidate Jim Renacci and Rep. Steve Chabot, who are scheduled to campaign today in Ohio with President Donald Trump. Renacci and Chabot who, like Trump, have deeply disturbing records undermining equality.

“Donald Trump, Jim Renacci and Steve Chabot stand in opposition to Ohio values. They have spent their careers working to undermine equality at every turn,” said HRC Ohio State Director Shawn Copeland. “By consistently maintaining an abysmal zero on HRC’s Congressional Scorecard, Renacci and Chabot have demonstrated that they are unfit for public office and unable represent the people of Ohio fairly and equally. Their voting records speak for themselves, and with fewer than 30 days until the crucial midterm elections, HRC is working harder than ever to mobilize Ohio’s more than 1.8 million Equality Voters to turn out for equality and ensure that both Renacci and Chabot are ousted from Congress.”

Both Jim Renacci and Steve Chabot are longtime opponents of LGBTQ equality whose records include opposing marriage equality, supporting a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people, and a lack of support for the Equality Act. In August Renacci also addressed the Tony Perkins run anti-LGBTQ hate group, the Family Research Council. Chabot also voted in 2017 to strip necessary healthcare away from transgender service members. During his two decades in Washington, Chabot consistently received a zero on HRC’s Congressional Scorecard which measures members’ of Congress support for LGBTQ equality.

Since 2016, the Trump administration and their allies in Congress have led continuous efforts to undermine access to affordable healthcare. Both Renacci and Chabot sided with the administration and voted in 2017 to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act and strip healthcare from millions of Americans, including low-income families, children, LGBTQ people, and people living with pre-existing conditions. 

HRC is on the ground mobilizing our members and supporters to reject anti-LGBTQ discrimination by re-electing Senator Sherrod Brown and electing Aftab Pureval to Congress.

Brown is one of the LGBTQ community’s staunchest allies in the Senate. He voted to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 2010 and for passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009. Brown has also been a consistent ally for marriage equality and is a co-sponsor of the Equality Act, crucial federal legislation that would finally guarantee explicit, permanent protections for LGBTQ people under our nation's existing civil rights laws.

A former federal prosecutor and current Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, Pureval has fought for the equal rights of every American. He is a strong champion for the LGBTQ community who supports marriage equality and the Equality Act.

In Ohio, HRC has identified more than 1.8 million Equality Voters -- voters who support LGBTQ-inclusive policies. HRC has prioritized investments and organizing in Ohio, and has staff and resources on the ground in the state as part of the largest grassroots expansion in the organization’s 38-year history.