Tuesday's primary for three Ohio Supreme Court seats began a high-stakes fight for partisan control in fall. The court, with a 4-3 Republican majority, will decide how to enforce a state constitution amendment preserving abortion rights that voters overwhelmingly adopted last year.
Only one of the three seats up for election this year had a contested primary. The state Democratic Party-endorsed 8th District Court of Appeals judge Lisa Forbes defeated 10th District Court judge Terri Jamison.
Forbes, along with the two other Democratic judges on the November ballot, said, “We're 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.” With so much at risk in 2024, we need everyone to protect democracy.”
She will challenge Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Republican judge Dan Hawkins for the court's only available seat. The state Republican Party and Hawkins did not reply to calls for comment. Ohio is one of 33 states with supreme court races this year and one of the few where voters can change party control. The institutions have been under fire in recent years because they are the last resort for divisive matters like abortion, voting rights, and redistricting.
Just weeks ago, the Alabama Supreme Court determined that frozen embryos can be deemed infants, halting in vitro fertilization treatments and sparking a nationwide reproductive rights discussion. Last year's $42 million Wisconsin Supreme Court contest was the most expensive state high court campaign ever and shifted control from conservatives to liberals.
Democrats must win all three contests in November to change Ohio's court, retaining Justices Michael Donnelly and Melody Stewart and the open seat for which Forbes received the nomination on Tuesday. That will be challenging considering the state Supreme Court has been Republican since 1986 and the former swing state's politics have shifted right.
After 57% of Ohioans supported a reproductive rights initiative last November, Democrats saw an opening. They hope to highlight the court's influence on the amendment's future and use the contests to challenge the Republican Party's control of Ohio's three arms of government.
Forbes joined 8th District Court of Appeals in 2020. She was a corporate and consumer class-action law partner at a national law company in Cleveland before that. Forbes called a Democratic court majority a “firewall” in a Republican-controlled state during her campaign.
Forbes told The Associated Press Tuesday night that Ohioans want “a judiciary that will protect them and their rights.” Jamison's chief strategist, Deametrious St. John, was dismayed by the results and blamed the state Democratic Party for selecting sides.
He remarked, “I think state parties should leave primaries alone.” Each of us is Democratic. We wanted a fair election to see who could best represent us, but that didn't happen.” Forbes will challenge Hawkins because to the 2022 appointment of Republican Joe Deters by Gov. Mike DeWine. Deters will fight Democratic Justice Melody Stewart in November instead of running for reelection.
Stewart's term ends in 2030, four years longer than Deters'. State politics favor the Republican in the incumbent-versus-incumbent primary. In November's general election, Donnelly will face Republican Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Shanahan in the third court contest. Campaign issues may include abortion, redistricting, public education, health care, the environment, and criminal justice.
"The reproductive freedom amendment didn't automatically overturn all of Ohio's unconstitutional abortion restrictions," said Pro-Choice Ohio executive director Kellie Copeland. Only two ways to achieve that. One is through legislation, which we don't see as feasible for some time. Second, court challenges will go to the state supreme court.”
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