Mar. 19—In the Democratic primary for one of the Ohio Supreme Court seats, Judge Lisa Forbes of the 8th District Court of Appeals is leading Judge Terri Jamison of the 10th District Court of Appeals by 19.8 percentage points, according to early votes cast in person or by absentee ballots in unofficial results recorded by the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office.
Forbes has 59.9% of the vote, while Jamison has 40.1% of the vote, as of 7:56 p.m.
There are three Ohio Supreme Court seats up for grabs this fall but only one of them has a contested primary race this March.
Jamison and Forbes are competing against one another for their party’s nomination. The winner will take on Dan Hawkins, a Republican judge with the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, in November.
The seat is empty because incumbent Republican Justice Joseph Deters, rather than run for re-election to his own seat, opted to challenge Democratic colleague Melody Stewart for hers, in hopes of whittling down Democrats’ presence on the bench.
The backdrop on all of these statewide races is a tussle between Republicans and Democrats for majority control over the state’s top court, which could prove critical in high-profile issues such as deciding the parameters of abortion rights in Ohio following November’s passage of Issue 1.
Before Forbes became a judge in 2020, she was partner of a Cleveland office of a national law firm, which she said has given her “extensive” experience in state and federal trial courts and appeals courts. Her focus was on business litigation, consumer class action lawsuits, legal malpractice and trust/estate disputes.
Jamison has spent more than a decade as a judge, in Franklin County’s Domestic Relations and Juvenile Divisions, and now on the 10th District Court of Appeals. She has spent time as a public defender, and running her own law firm, practicing criminal, juvenile, domestic relations and probate law at the trial and appellate levels, according to her website.
Appeals court races — Two Butler County women — Barbara Carter and Melena Siebert — are vying to be the Republican nominee for judge in the District 12 Court of Appeals, which covers Preble, most of Butler County, Warren County and many points south and east.
Siebert has 64.7% while Carter has 35.3% of the vote, according to partial, unofficial results from the Ohio Secretary of State. — The candidates in the Republican primary for the Second District Court of Appeals, which serves Montgomery, Greene, Darke, Miami, Champaign and Clark counties, are Chris Epley, who was elected to this court in 2020, and attorney Robert Hanseman.
Hanseman has 60.8% of the vote, while Epley has 39.2% of the vote, according to partial, unofficial results from the Ohio Secretary of State.
In both appeals judge races, whomever wins the primary essentially wins the November election, as no Democrat is running.
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
