Ohio Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner is the only Democrat currently holding statewide elected office. And four Republicans are vying to be the one to try to take her out in the November general election.
The Republican primary is crowded: Fifth District Court of Appeals Judge Andrew King, Ninth District Court of Appeals Judge Jill Flagg Lanzinger, Second District Court of Appeals Judge Ron Lewis and former Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Colleen O’Donnell are running in the May primary.
The Ohio Republican Party did not endorse in the race.
Who is Judge Andrew King?
King, of Granville, got his undergraduate degree from Ohio State University and law degree from Capital University. King has served as a public defender, assistant prosecutor, in-house legal counsel for a sewer and water district and as an appellate judge. If he joins the bench, he’d be the only justice with experience as a public defender but the fourth former prosecutor.
He describes himself an “originalist” who looks at the plain meaning of how laws are written and won’t “legislate from the bench.”
“I decided to run because I thought we needed a constitutional conservative on the court,” said King. He added that he isn’t concerned that an all-Republican court would lack balance. There can be differences among conservatives on a court, he said.
King made news in 2025 when he wrote a dissent that defended a property owner’s right to feed squirrels.
King, 47, is married and has two adult children.
Who is Judge Jill Flagg Lanzinger?
Lanzinger, of Green, has experience as a magistrate in Akron Municipal Court, judge in Barberton Municipal Court, Summit County Common Pleas Court and the appellate court. Lanzinger said it’s crucial that the Republican candidate match the judicial experience of Brunner. “I don’t think it’ll be an easy race,” she said.
In 2024 and 2025, Lanzinger and her family experienced the justice system as crime victims when a man who had been in her court started stalking them. The man showed up at her home wearing a mask and carrying a gun and, on another occasion, entered their house. He is now serving a four-year prison sentence and Lanzinger said she has a new perspective.
In 2013, she argued and won a case before the Ohio Supreme Court that guarantees survivors of childhood sexual abuse can bring claims against government actors for 12 years after they reach age 18.
“It felt like I was doing something good, something meaningful,” Lanzinger said of the case, Watkins versus the Ohio Department of Youth Services.
Lanzinger said she isn’t concerned about an all-Republican court. “If we’re doing our jobs, there’s going to be division.”
She holds an undergraduate degree from Heidelberg College and law degree from University of Akron. She is related through her husband to retired Ohio Supreme Court Justice Judith Lanzinger.
Lanzinger, 46, is married and has three children.
Who is Judge Ron Lewis?
Lewis, of Xenia Township, was appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine to the Second District Court of Appeals in January 2022. His father attended kindergarten with Mike and Fran DeWine and Lewis is close friends with Ohio Supreme Court Justice Patrick DeWine.
Prior to joining the appeals court, he served as a local prosecutor, city law director and Xenia Municipal Court judge. He holds undergraduate and law degrees from Ohio Northern University. Lewis said his legal and judicial career prepared him for the high court, noting he’s worked to protect victims’ and defendants’ rights and tried to educate police officers about the law.
Lewis authored an appellate decision that ruled against a man who claimed he was high on medical marijuana when he agreed to a guilty plea deal that he later regretted. He also ruled on a case involving a request to change sex markers on a birth certificate, finding that the law allows changing factual errors only. The cases demonstrate Lewis’ adherence to following laws as written, he said.
Lewis said he’s not worried about a lack of balance if all the justices are Republicans. “A judge’s responsibility is to follow the law, not to rewrite it.”
Lewis is married to Greene County Juvenile Court Judge Amy Lewis. The two have four adult children.
Who is former judge Colleen O’Donnell?
O’Donnell, of Grandview Heights, became the youngest judge in Ohio in May 2013 when then Gov. John Kasich appointed her to the bench at age 32. Her father, Terrence O’Donnell, is a retired Ohio Supreme Court justice. She served on the Franklin County Common Pleas Court for a decade until 2022, when she lost her reelection bid.
Democrats have been gaining ground in Franklin County, leading some Republicans to change parties. When asked if she’d change, O’Donnell said “Not in this lifetime.” O’Donnell earned an undergraduate degree from Miami University and law degree from Case Western Reserve University.
After her election loss, O’Donnell pivoted and served as a federal immigration judge in Laredo, Texas. She asked for Cleveland but got assigned to Laredo. The 1,500-mile commute proved too onerous, and she left that job in December 2023.
O’Donnell said her 10 years as a trial court judge has prepared her for the supreme court. She pledged that she’ll interpret laws as written, rather than legislate from the bench.
As an example of that philosophy, O’Donnell highlighted a case she decided: the Ohio High School Athletic Association wanted to block a girls’ volleyball team from a state tournament because the team played one too many games, a violation of the rules. The coach testified that she made an honest mistake and exceeded the allowable game number. O’Donnell determined the regulations didn’t allow for judicial leeway and blocked the team from the tournament, even though she personally didn’t like the outcome. “My hands were tied,” she said.
She is married and has two young children.
Power of the Ohio Supreme Court
Supreme Court decisions impact how much Ohioans pay in taxes, whether utility companies can add fees to ratepayers’ bills, how insurance and business laws are interpreted, what government records will be available to the public and more. The court also interprets constitutional amendments, such as the reproductive rights amendment that voters approved in November 2023.
Justices are elected to six-year terms. Republicans currently hold six of the seven seats.
No primary for the second Ohio Supreme Court seat
There is no Democratic primary for Brunner and no primaries for the second Ohio Supreme Court race. Incumbent Republican Justice Dan Hawkins will face Democrat Marilyn Zayas, a judge on the First District Court of Appeals. Zayas lost a race against Republican Justice Pat DeWine in 2022.
Hawkins beat Eighth District Court of Appeals Judge Lisa Forbes in 2024 to finish the term of Justice Joe Deters. Deters, who was appointed to the bench by Gov. DeWine, decided to run against his colleague, Melody Stewart, for a full-term on the court. Deters defeated Stewart.
Are judicial races nonpartisan?
Trial and municipal court races in Ohio are nonpartisan, but a new state law requires partisan labels in general elections for appellate and supreme court candidates.
The party label law has helped Republican candidates for supreme court. Since the law took effect, Democrats haven’t won an Ohio Supreme Court race.
Brunner is suing to overturn the partisan label law. Brunner lost her bid for chief justice in 2022 against Republican Sharon Kennedy. That was the first election cycle in which the partisan label law was in force.
Republicans have held a majority of the seven seats since 1986 − four decades. Democrats started to make gains on the court in recent years, but then legislators changed the law to require party labels.
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Who is running for Ohio Supreme Court?
Reporting by Laura A. Bischoff, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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