Attention Turns To Ohio Supreme Court Races

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Following the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court, Miami Valley voters are turning more of their attention to a pair of election contests involving candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court. Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, where justices are nominated by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Ohio’s high court justices are elected directly by voters statewide.

This election features four candidates running for two seats on the Ohio Supreme Court. Incumbent Justice Judith French, a Republican, is being challenged by Democrat Jennifer Brunner, an Appeals Court Judge in Columbus. Brunner was on the statewide ballot once before as a successful candidate for Ohio Secretary of State. She served as the state’s chief elections officer from 2007 to 2011.

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The other race for the court involves Justice Sharon Kennedy, a Republican, who is challenged by Democrat John O’Donnell, a Common Pleas Court Judge from Cleveland.

Voters looking for political party labels next to the candidates' names on the ballot will not find them. Technically it is a non-partisan race. For voters who care about party affiliation it will require them to do some homework before they mark their ballots.

The candidates and their party organizations have launched massive campaign efforts to highlight the race, promote the candidates and draw a contrast with the opposition. “It will be up to the candidates and the parties to put their names out there and see if they can make this happen.

There is an awful lot of advertising that is going into this right now,” said Mark Caleb Smith, professor of political science at Cedarville University and Chair of the university’s Center for Political Studies.

The Ohio Supreme Court handles the state’s most important legal issues, including every death penalty case, utility issues that affect every Ohioans' electric and gas bills and disputes over the size and shape of Ohio’s Congressional districts when the boundaries are re-drawn every ten years following the U.S. Census.

If the Democratic candidates win their races for the court, the party will have a court majority for the first time in more than 30 years. Smith said it could impact Ohio’s political landscape for many years to come. “If there are legal challenges to Ohio’s redistricting plan, then the Ohio Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction over that. So they are going to hear those challenges and going to settle any questions,” Smith said.

Cox Media Group