Ohio Democrats lose two transgender Pride Caucus members who say the party won’t let them speak

This story first appeared on The Buckeye Flame.Two trans Ohioans resigned this week from the Pride Caucus Steering Committee of the Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) within 24 hours of each other, both citing frustrations with the way they say the caucus is censored by the ODP. The Pride Caucus is one of 10 caucuses of the ODP.Ciara Keeton resigned first on October 4. She told The Buckeye Flame that she was voted onto the steering committee on September 28, eight days before she resigned. Keeton said she submitted her name to be considered for the 20-person steering committee to “see more trans people in the room.”“I honestly wanted to work with the caucus to support the LGBTQ+ community in whatever way I could,” Keeton said.On Sept. 23, ODP removed two social media posts pushing back against Rep. Marcy Kaptur’s anti-trans ads, garnering allegations of censorship.Keeton joined the Pride Caucus amidst the backlash. Screenshot of a Pride Caucus steering committee group textThe Buckeye Flame On September 28 – the same day that Keeton was voted onto the steering committee – two Ohio trans elected officials released a statement supporting gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton and encouraging others to do the same despite an anti-transgender statement Acton made on July 28.Keeton posted to the social media site Bluesky that the Pride Caucus was specifically told by ODP leadership they could not share the statement supporting Acton because ODP chair Kathleen Clyde decided “trying to unify LGBTQ+ support for Acton in the final 35 days would be an unwelcome distraction.”Although she had only served for eight days, Keeton said that the ODP rationale broke her.“All of the censorship and refusal became too overwhelming and led me to believe there was no point in remaining and that even if I had remained, I would have been able to accomplish nothing of value,” Keeton said. Pride Caucus vice-chair resigns the next dayLess than 24 hours after Keeton’s resignation, Ar