Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton walked in Cleveland’s annual Labor Day Parade on Monday, a tradition that many candidates running for statewide office join during an election year.
Started in the early 1970s by Mayor Carl B. Stokes and his brother, longtime U.S. Rep. Louis Stokes, the parade has always been infused with Democratic politics.
This was Acton’s second time in the parade. She walked it last year, largely alone, when she was the first announced Democratic candidate and before the party fully coalesced around her.
Signal Cleveland filmed the parade last year and compared her appearance to this year’s. The cliche applies: What a difference a year makes for her.
Acton in the 2026 parade
Acton’s greeting of people along the route, posing for selfies and stopping for short chats created a massive gap between groups in front of her and those behind her entourage. Nearly 45 minutes into the event, some group’s had yet to start the parade, which typically lasts two hours as it makes it way from East 147th Street and Kinsman Avenue to Cleveland’s Luke Easter Park.
Acton’s Republican opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, did not attend. But his running mate, Ohio Sen. President Rob McColley, did walk the parade surrounded by a dozen supporters.
Acton did not appear to taper her campaigning in light of an incident on Sunday during a campaign stop at the Canfield Fair. The Ohio State Highway Patrol said that several people were injured when an armed man forced his way through a small crowd toward Acton, knocking several members of the audience to the ground.
U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown oversees the parade each year and led it again this year. She was followed by Cleveland City Council members and representatives of several Cleveland city departments. At the start, Acton walked alongside Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb in what was about the 10th position in the parade.
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