Candice Keller


Candice Keller is the state representative for the 53rd District of the Ohio House of Representatives, which includes part of Butler County. She is a Republican. In 2019, she proposed legislation to ban and criminalize abortion in Ohio.

Early life and career

Keller was born and raised in Butler County, Ohio. She has been a director of an anti-abortion organization in southwestern Ohio, the Community Pregnancy Center, since 2008. She is also a member of the Central Committee of the local Republican Party.

Ohio House of Representatives

In 2016, Ohio Representative Tim Derickson was unable to run for a fifth term in the Ohio House of Representatives due to term limits. Keller was one of two Republicans to run to replace Derickson; she won the primary 59% to 41%. She won the general election with 65% of the vote over Democrat Susan Rubin. With Derickson leaving his term early to join the administration of Ohio Governor John Kasich, Keller was appointed to fill the rest of his term by starting on November 16, 2016, as opposed to the usual start date of January 1, 2017.

2019 Dayton shooting controversy

Following the 2019 Dayton shooting, Keller posted an essay on her personal Facebook page on August 4, 2019. This essay blamed the Dayton shooting on the breakdown of the traditional family, video game violence, recreational marijuana, open borders, disrespect of military veterans and law enforcement, failed school policies, former President Barack Obama, and "snowflakes, who can’t accept a duly-elected President". She later deleted the post. As a result, many local officials have called for Keller to resign. Keller, who is a candidate to replace fellow Republican Bill Coley in the state senate, countered, "Establishment moderates have never been fans of mine because I ran against their endorsement and won. As the only conservative in this race, I will be taking my Senate campaign to the voters to decide." In 2020, she lost the Republican primary.

Abortion bill

In 2019 Candice Keller and Ron Hood sponsored legislation that would ban abortion in Ohio and criminalise "abortion murder". Doctors who performed abortions in cases of ectopic pregnancy and other life-threatening conditions would be exempt from prosecution only if they " all possible steps to preserve the life of the unborn child, while preserving the life of the woman. Such steps include, if applicable, attempting to reimplant an ectopic pregnancy into the woman's uterus". Reimplantation of an ectopic pregnancy is not a recognised or feasible medical procedure.

Personal life

According to Keller's website, she has been married for more than 40 years to Kent Keller, a retired software company project manager, with two sons. Her website also states that she resides in Middletown, Ohio.