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Who is running for Ohio Supreme Court? Six candidates on the ballot

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Who is running for Ohio Supreme Court? Six candidates on the ballot

Ohio voters will make decisions about which political party controls the bench in three Supreme Court races

Ohio voters will decide today on three Supreme Court elections that will determine which political party controls the bench as key cases on abortion and other hot-button issues come before the court.

Since 1986, Republicans have been the majority on the seven-member Ohio Supreme Court.

More: There are six candidates running for three seats in the Ohio Supreme Court election

If Democrats defend two seats and win an open seat, they have a majority. Most analysts consider that unlikely given Ohio's shift to the right and a new law that classifies Supreme Court nominees as partisan.

Ohio Supreme Court election results

The partisan etiquette law went into effect in the 2022 election cycle. This year, Republican Sharon Kennedy defeated incumbent Justice Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, in the race for chief justice. And two Republican incumbents, Pat DeWine and Pat Fischer, defeated their Democratic challengers.

This year, with Donald Trump on the ballot, Republicans are expecting strong results in other statewide partisan elections.

Here are the matchups for the Supreme Court:

Michael Donnelly vs. Megan Shanahan

Cleveland-area Democrat Michael Donnelly, an incumbent seeking his second six-year term, is running against Cincinnati-area Republican Megan Shanahan, a Hamilton County Common Pleas Court judge and former prosecutor.

Melody Stewart vs. Joe Deters

Cleveland-area Democrat Melody Stewart, an incumbent seeking a second term, is being challenged by fellow judge Joe Deters, a Cincinnati Republican whom Gov. Mike DeWine appointed to the bench. Instead of running to keep his current seat for the next two years, Deters decided to take on Stewart.

More: Ohio sets new record for early in-person voting, surpassing 2020 pandemic numbers

Lisa Forbes vs. Dan Hawkins

Cleveland-area Democrat Lisa Forbes, 8th District Court of Appeals judge, and Columbus-area Republican Dan Hawkins, Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge, are vying for the seat open by Deters. The winner would likely come in two years to run for a full six-year term.

In 2023, Ohio voters passed a constitutional amendment protecting reproductive rights. The Supreme Court is expected to hear challenges to the anti-abortion laws and determine how to apply the new change.

Against this backdrop, Planned Parenthood supported Stewart, Donnelly and Forbes and Ohio Right to Life supported Deters, Shanahan and Hawkins.

Stay informed: Sign up for The Scoop, our weekly Ohio politics newsletter

Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which covers the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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