Ohio held primaries for three contested seats on its Supreme Court that will determine partisan control in November.
The court currently has a 4-3 Republican majority and will decide how to implement the state’s new constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights.
In the lone contested primary, Judge Lisa Forbes defeated Judge Terri Jamison for the Democratic nomination.
“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,” Forbes stated. “With so much at stake in 2024, we need all hands on deck to defend our democracy.”
Forbes will now face Republican Judge Dan Hawkins for an open seat being vacated by term-limited Republican Justice Joe Deters.
Democrats must sweep all three races to flip control of the court from Republicans, who have held it since 1986.
“I think state parties should leave primaries alone,” senior strategist Deametrious St. John said. “We’re all Democrats. We’re looking to see a fair election to see who’s best equipped to represent us, and that’s not what happened here.”
Reproductive rights are expected to be a key issue given 57% of Ohio voters backed the abortion amendment.
Advocates on both sides say the court races will impact the future of abortion access and other divisive issues in the increasingly right-leaning state.
“Passing the reproductive freedom amendment didn’t automatically strike down all of the now unconstitutional restrictions on abortion in Ohio,” said Kellie Copeland, executive director of Pro-Choice Ohio. “There are only two paths to doing that. One is through the legislative process, which we don’t see as a realistic path for some time. And the second is through court challenges that will definitely fall to the state supreme court.”
“The question is if we’re going to have judges who push their political agenda on the country or judges who just interpret the law,” Center for Christian Virtue president Aaron Baer said.
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