On top of the obvious presidential and congressional contests — and their clear implications for the U.S. Supreme Court — the outcome of several key races will determine the composition of state Supreme Courts, which could affect crucial issues like gerrymandering and abortion rights, among others.
Michigan and Ohio could be the most important, because partisan control of those courts is in play. Heading into Tuesday, Democrats hold a 4-3 majority in Michigan, while Republicans hold a 4-3 majority in Ohio. Highlighting the races’ national significance, former President Barack Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, has endorsed the Democratic candidates in both Michigan and Ohio.
There are two races in Michigan, where the contests are technically nonpartisan but political parties nominate the candidates. In one, GOP-backed Judge Patrick William O’Grady is running against the Democratic-backed incumbent, Justice Kyra Harris Bolden, who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. In the other, to fill the seat of a retiring Republican-backed justice, University of Michigan law professor Kimberly Ann Thomas is the Democratic nominee against Republican state Rep. Andrew Fink, who has criticized Whitmer’s policies.
There are six candidates running for three seats on Ohio’s Republican-controlled court. GOP Judge Megan Shanahan is running against Democratic Justice Michael P. Donnelly, and Democratic Judge Lisa Forbes is running against Republican Judge Dan Hawkins for the seat of GOP Justice Joseph Deters. Deters, a former prosecutor who was appointed to a vacant seat by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, is challenging incumbent Democratic Justice Melody Stewart. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that, “Had Deters run for his appointed seat, he would’ve had to run statewide again in two years when the unexpired term ended.” The race against Stewart is for a full six-year term.
Other judicial seats are up for grabs across the country, even if those races won’t flip those courts — like in Arizona, where justices who voted for the state’s abortion ban are on the ballot, and North Carolina, where the court’s 5-2 right-wing majority could expand.
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