Candice Keller, who is running in the Republican primary for Ohio State Senate District 4, said she decided to run to unseat State Senator George Lang (R-District 4) after learning the incumbent Republican sponsored the Ohio Fairness Act.
The Ohio Fairness Act, filed as Senate Bill 132, would add sexual orientation and gender identity into Ohio’s existing anti-discrimination law.
Lang is listed as an original co-sponsor of the bill, which has been championed by the likes of the American Civil Liberties Union and other LGBTQ advocate groups.
“Someone said to me, George Lang has just co-sponsored a bill that puts men in little girls’ restrooms. And I said, ‘There’s no way he would ever do that.’ You know, nobody in the right mind would do such a thing,” Keller told The Ohio Star. “And sure enough, in September [2023], it was assigned to committee, and it was the real deal. So I thought about it, never really talked to anybody about it other than my campaign manager, and December 20th, [2023], I decided that while I know George is an incumbent, he needs to be challenged.”
Keller, who served as a state representative from 2016 to 2020, further told The Star that Senate Bill 132 is pushed by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, which she said “owned” Lang (pictured here).
When it comes to other Republican-platform issues, Keller, who currently serves as executive director of the Community Pregnancy Center, said she is the “most conservative” of the candidates running for the state senate seat, specifically when it comes to Second Amendment rights and protecting the unborn.
“George Lang was in favor of red flag laws, which are anti-gun, anti-second amendment laws,” Keller said. “I passed a constitutional carry and stand your ground [laws]. “George is not a Second Amendment guy, he’s not a pro-life guy – George has been extremely weak on pro-life in a district that’s very, very red.”
Keller went on to say that Lang is “owned by big business,” noting how the state senator has “become a millionaire” by being a “career politician.”
“I do know how to get things done and things that matter to the people of Butler County. Right now, we have a senator who is owned by big business. I come from a business owner family that worked in the private sector. I work in the private sector,” Keller said. “I don’t even know what George Lang does for a living.”
“He’s a career politician. He’s been a township trustee. He’s been a politician his whole life. And has become a millionaire doing that,” Keller added. ”People in Butler County want somebody like them who loves God, loves country, and is patriotic and conservative. That’s just who we are down here.”
If elected, Keller told The Star that her top priority in the Ohio Senate would be to work on legislation that would lift the real estate tax for people over 65 and work as well as legislation that would stop the taxing of social security.
Early voting for the March 19 Primary Election in Ohio runs through Sunday, March 17.
Polls are open on election day from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Candice Keller” by Candice Keller.
