The Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee will meet on Friday to consider endorsements for the three Ohio Supreme Court seats up for grabs in 2024, as well as a resolution to support the Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment.
In the Ohio Supreme Court, Democratic Justices Michael Donnelly and Melody Stewart are up for re-election, and Republican Justice Joe Deters must run for retention in 2024 and re-election in 2026. It will give Republicans an opportunity to hold six of seven seats in the high court. The GOP has a four to three majority in the state Supreme Court.
A screening committee has recommended the endorsement of Deters for election, Hamilton County Judge Megan Shanahan, and Judge Daniel Hawkins to the State Central Committee.
Deters, a Republican, served as the prosecutor in Hamilton County from 1992 to 1999 and again starting in 2005. He was recently elected to a five-year term in 2020 after serving two terms as Ohio treasurer. Before being elected as Hamilton County prosecutor, Deters served as clerk of courts for Hamilton County.
In December, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine appointed Deters to fill a vacancy on the Ohio Supreme Court where he currently serves; however, he must run for re-election in 2024.
Shanahan was the first to announce a bid for a seat on the high court in 2024.
Shanahan has been a Hamilton County Common Pleas Court judge since January 2015. Before that, she was a Hamilton County Municipal Court judge for four years, served five years as an assistant prosecutor, and began serving five years as a Butler County assistant prosecutor.
Hawkins has been a Franklin County Common Pleas judge since 2019. Before that, he served as a judge for the Franklin County Municipal Court Environmental Division, served for 10 years as director of the Special Victims Unit at the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office, and as an assistant prosecuting attorney at the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office.
The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution.
The Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee will also consider a resolution supporting the Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment, which aims to alter how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments.
There are currently two pieces of legislation that Republican lawmakers have introduced this session to protect the state Constitution from out-of-state special interest groups.
House Joint Resolution (HJR) 1, sponsored by state Representative Brian Stewart (R–Ashville) and Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 2, sponsored by State Senators Rob McColley (R–Napoleon) and Theresa Gavarone (R–Bowling Green), both aim to mandate a 60 percent approval percentage for any future constitutional amendments, call for signatures from all 88 counties, and do away with the opportunity to “cure” petitions by collecting additional signatures if necessary.
The legislation comes when pro-abortion activists are working to pass a proposed constitutional amendment in November that would legalize abortion throughout the state.
A second proposed amendment that would eventually raise the state’s minimum wage will likely appear on a 2024 ballot.
Republican lawmakers said that the state Constitution is a sacred document that special interest groups should be able to amend so easily.
Ohio GOP Chairman Alex Triantafilou has already endorsed the legislation saying that it’s common sense and upholds the principles that gave rise to America.
“The U.S. Constitution is a sacred document that has not been amended in over 30 years. In Ohio, special interests have free reign to use the Ohio Constitution to bypass Ohio’s elected lawmakers on a whim,” Triantafilou said.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Ohio Supreme Court” by Sixflashphoto. CC BY-SA 4.0.
