Ohio only state with chance to flip Supreme Court this year | Opinion

Last November, Ohioans went to the polls and overwhelmingly voted to protect abortion rights. Voters made clear to out-of-touch Republican politicians that they didn’t want the government interfering in personal, private medical decisions that should be made between a woman and her doctor. Thankfully, Issue 1 passed by wide bipartisan margins, enshrining reproductive rights in Ohio’s Constitution.

But the fight isn’t over. 

Even on election night, we heard from GOP politicians that they’re going to do everything they can to weaken or even repeal Issue 1, flying directly in the face of the will of Ohio voters. We know that extremists in our GOP-gerrymandered legislature are going to pass bills that are anti-abortion and anti-women in an effort to achieve their long-standing goal of banning abortion in Ohio. And when we fight back, the last line of defense will be the Ohio Supreme Court. Unfortunately, one of the candidates running as a Republican has already made her views on the issue crystal clear.

Judge Megan Shanahan has taken to social media to brag about her endorsements from the very same anti-abortion groups who led the opposition against Issue 1 − Cincinnati Right to Life and Centers for Christian Virtue. Judge Shanahan once admonished another judge for sharing her opinions on a political issue when she was running for office, writing: "What’s not fine, is having strongly formed opinions about how cases should be decided before they reach your courtroom."

Shanahan has broken her own rules. She’s "proud" to be endorsed by anti-abortion groups that support her campaigns, financially and otherwise, and who continue working to try to ban abortion in Ohio. She’s shown her political prejudice. She clearly can’t be trusted to be fair and impartial. And she belongs nowhere near the Ohio Supreme Court. 

Ohio is the only state in the country with the opportunity to flip its state supreme court this year. And while abortion rights are clearly on the ballot in 2024, it’s not the only issue that will likely come before the supreme court. Redistricting reform, voters’ access to the ballot and marijuana legalization are all critical issues that will likely be decided by the court we elect this November. 

Time and again, the current GOP majority on the Ohio Supreme Court has shown they’re willing to put politics over people. If we don’t flip the court this year, extremists in the state legislature will continue to pass out-of-touch policies that move our state backward yet are rubber-stamped by Republicans on the Supreme Court looking out for their political allies. 

Ohioans deserve a court that is fair, impartial and follows the rule of law, not partisans that look out for their donors and political allies at the expense of Ohio families. This November, let’s reject Republican radicalism and put people over politics by reelecting Justice Michael Donnelly and Justice Melody Stewart and electing Judge Lisa Forbes to the Ohio Supreme Court. 

Elizabeth Walters has been serving as chair of the Ohio Democratic Party since January 2021. She is the first woman to head the Ohio Democratic Party and was unanimously reelected as chair in August 2022 to another four-year term.