Tuesday鈥檚 primaries for three contested seats on the Ohio Supreme Court kicked off a high-stakes battle for partisan control of the court this fall.
The court, which currently has a 4-3 Republican majority, is expected to determine how to implement an protecting abortion rights that voters overwhelmingly approved last year.
Of the three seats up for election this year, . Lisa Forbes, an 8th District Court of Appeals judge who was endorsed by the state Democratic Party, defeated Judge Terri Jamison, who sits on the 10th District Court of Appeals.
鈥淲e鈥檙e honored to receive the support of Ohioans across the state who are ready to restore justice, fairness and the rule of law to the Ohio Supreme Court,鈥� Forbes said in a joint statement with the two other Democratic judges who will be on the November ballot. 鈥淲ith so much at stake in 2024, we need all hands on deck to defend our democracy.鈥�
She now will face Dan Hawkins, a Republican judge of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, for what is the court鈥檚 only open slot. Hawkins and the state Republican Party did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ohio is one of 33 states with this year and among the few where voters have an opportunity to flip partisan control of the court. The institutions have been under increasing scrutiny in recent years because they often are the court of last resort for some of the most high-profile issues that divide the nation, including abortion, voting rights and redistricting.
Just weeks ago, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled , a decision that temporarily halted in vitro fertilization treatments in the state and sparked a national debate over reproductive rights. A race for one seat on the last year was 鈥� $42 million 鈥� and eventually flipped control from conservatives to liberals.
To flip control of Ohio鈥檚 court, Democrats must sweep all three contested races in November, retaining two incumbents 鈥� Justices Michael Donnelly and Melody Stewart 鈥� and the open seat for which Forbes won the nomination on Tuesday. That will be a difficult task, given that the state Supreme Court has been under Republican control since 1986 and the former swing state鈥檚 overall politics have .
But Democrats see an opening after 57% of Ohio voters backed a reproductive rights measure last fall. They plan to draw attention to the and see the races as a possible way at the Republican Party鈥檚 longstanding control of all three branches of government in Ohio.
Forbes has served on the 8th District Court of Appeals since 2020. Before then, she was a partner at a Cleveland office of a national law firm, where she focused on business and consumer class-action law.
During her campaign, Forbes hinted at the importance of building a Democratic majority on the court, referring to it as a 鈥渇irewall鈥� in a state that has long been under full Republican political control.
In a statement Tuesday night to The Associated Press, Forbes said she had heard from Ohioans that 鈥渢hey want a judiciary that will protect them and their rights.鈥�
Deametrious St. John, senior strategist for Jamison鈥檚 campaign, said he was disappointed by the results and criticized the state Democratic Party for picking sides.
鈥淚 think state parties should leave primaries alone,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all Democrats. We鈥檙e looking to see a fair election to see who鈥檚 best equipped to represent us, and that鈥檚 not what happened here.鈥�
The open seat for which Forbes will compete against Hawkins is being vacated by , who was appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine in 2022. Deters has decided not to seek reelection but to instead challenge Democratic Justice Melody Stewart for her seat in November.
The term for Stewart鈥檚 seat runs through 2030 鈥� four years longer than what鈥檚 available on Deters鈥� current seat. The incumbent-versus-incumbent primary would tend to favor the Republican, given the state鈥檚 politics.
In the third court race, Donnelly will face Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Shanahan, a Republican, in November鈥檚 general election.
Besides abortion, , public education, health care, the environment and criminal justice may also arise as campaign issues.
鈥淧assing the reproductive freedom amendment didn鈥檛 automatically strike down all of the now unconstitutional restrictions on abortion in Ohio,鈥� said Kellie Copeland, executive director of Pro-Choice Ohio. 鈥淭here are only two paths to doing that. One is through the legislative process, which we don鈥檛 see as a realistic path for some time. And the second is through court challenges that will definitely fall to the state supreme court.鈥�
Aaron Baer, president of Center for Christian Virtue in Ohio, also emphasized the importance of abortion rights in these races, raising concerns over judges too loosely interpreting the new constitutional amendment to include issues such as gender-affirming care.
鈥淭he question is if we鈥檙e going to have judges who push their political agenda on the country or judges who just interpret the law,鈥� said Baer, who served on the board for Protect Women Ohio, the Issue 1 opposition campaign.
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Christine Fernando, The Associated Press
