Tuesday’s Democratic primary for one of three contested seats on the Ohio Supreme Court will kick off a high-stakes battle for partisan control of the court this fall.
The court, which currently has a four-to-three Republican majority, holds the reins over how to implement an amendment to the state constitution protecting abortion rights that voters overwhelmingly approved last year.
Ohio is one of 33 states with Supreme Court races this year and one of the few where voters have a chance to flip partisan control of the court.
To do this, Democrats must win all three races in November, retaining two sitting judges — Justices Michael Donnelly and Melody Stewart — and winning an open seat. That will be a difficult task, since the Supreme Court has been under Republican control since 1986 and the former swing state’s overall politics have moved in the right direction in recent years.
But Democrats see an opening after 57% of Ohio voters supported a reproductive rights measure last fall. They plan to draw attention to the court’s influence on the future of the amendment and see the races as a possible way to undermine the Republican Party’s long-standing control over all three branches of government in Ohio .
Only one seat was contested in Tuesday’s primary election. In the Democratic primary, Lisa Forbes, a judge on the 8th District Court of Appeals, faces Judge Terri Jamison, who sits on the 10th District Court of Appeals.
The winner will face Dan Hawkins, a Republican judge of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, for the lone open seat in November. Before becoming a judge on that court, Hawkins worked in the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office and as a judge in the Franklin County Municipal Court.
Forbes, who is endorsed by the Ohio Democratic Party, has served on the 8th District Court of Appeals since 2020. Previously, she was a partner in the Cleveland office of a national law firm, where she focused on corporate and consumer class actions. law.
Jamison, who won 43% of the vote in a 2022 race against Ohio Supreme Court Republican incumbent Pat Fischer, has served on the 10th District Court of Appeals since 2020. She also served two terms as a judge of the Franklin County Court of Common. Pleas Domestic Relations and Juvenile Division, was a public defender in Franklin County and started her own law firm. If elected, Jamison would be the third Black woman to serve on the Ohio Supreme Court.
During their campaigns, both candidates have hinted at the importance of building a Democratic majority on the court.
“The Supreme Court must be an effective firewall to protect our democracy, our constitutional rights, and the rule of law,” Forbes said in a campaign ad. “I will never bow to political pressure and I will always stand up for your rights. .”
Jamison said in a campaign ad that the Ohio Supreme Court “should be accessible to everyone, not just the rich or powerful.”
“It can provide checks and balances to those who exaggerate or abuse power,” she said.
In addition to abortion, redistribution, public education, health care, the environment and criminal justice could also come up as campaign issues.
Forbes and Jamison are seeking their party’s nomination for the seat to which Republican Joe Deters was appointed by the governor in 2022.
Deters has decided to challenge Judge Melody Stewart, a Democrat, for her seat, where the term runs until 2030 – four years longer than what is available in his current seat. The incumbent vs. incumbent primaries would favor the Republicans, given the politics of the state.
In the third court race, Democratic Judge Michael Donnelly will face Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Shanahan, a Republican, in the November general election. Stewart and Donnelly were elected to the then all-Republican court in 2018.
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