In 2020, there will be 21 seats up for election within the state’s Court of Appeals system. Of those 21 seats, only 11 will be contested in the November General Election. Below is a full list of the upcoming General Election contests for Ohio’s Appellate Courts:

District Party Affiliation Candidate Education Experience Bench Status
1 Republican R. Mock University of Dayton, B.A.;

Ohio Northern University, J.D.

 Former county prosecutor Incumbent
1 Democrat G. Bock Miami University, B.A.; Cincinnati College of Law, J.D. Former Court of Appeals employee; experienced in appellate writing due to private practice workload Challenger
2 Republican C. Epley Denison University, B.A.; University of Dayton, J.D. Lawyer, 20 years

Trial Court Magistrate

 Open Seat

(Froelich)
2 Democrat M. Lachman Open Seat

(Froelich)
3 Republican M. Miller Open Seat
4 Republican P. Abele Bowling Green State University, B.S.; Capital University Law School, J.D. County prosecutor

Former Ohio Supreme Court justice

 Incumbent
5 Republican J. Furr Challenger
5 Democrat W. Hoffman College of Wooster; University of Akron School of Law, J.D. Municipal judge, prosecuting attorney, Ohio Supreme Court by assignment Incumbent
6 Democrat T. Osowik University of Toledo, B.A.; University of Toledo, J.D. Trail judge, attorney, Assistant Attorney General Incumbent
6 Republican C. Sulek Open Seat

(Singer)
6 Democrat M. Duhart Wright State University; University of Toledo, J.D. Common Pleas judge Open Seat

(Singer)
7 Republican C. Robb Youngstown State University, B.S.; University of Akron, MBA; University of Akron, J.D. Attorney, municipal court judge Incumbent
7 Democrat C. Waite Youngstown State University; Cleveland-Marshall School of Law, J.D. Ohio State Bar Association committee member, former law clerk Incumbent
8 Republican P. Hawkins Open (Blackmon)
8 Democrat E. Groves Kent State University; Case Western Reserve University School of Law, J.D.; National Judicial College Municipal court judge, police prosecutor, attorney for 38 years Open (Blackmon)
8 Democrat S. Gallagher Court of appeals Incumbent
8 Republican R. Headen Williams College; Pennsylvania Law School, J.D. Incumbent
8 Democrat Lisa Forbes Case Western Reserve School of Law, J.D. Business litigator Challenger

(Headen)
8 Democrat L. Jones College of Wooster, B.A.; Case Western Reserve Law School, J.D. City councilmen, municipal judge Incumbent
8 Democrat A. Mays Cleveland Marshall College of Law, J.D.; The Ohio State University Former Deputy Director of the Criminal Division in the Cleveland Clerk of Courts, Assistant Cleveland Prosecutor Incumbent
9 Republican J. Schafer Hiram College, B.A.; University of Akron, MBA; University of Akron, J.D. Business owner, attorney, Court Appointed Special Advocate, municipal court judge Incumbent
9 Democrat B. Sutton Kent State University, B.A.; University of Akron, J.D. City councilwoman, Ohio and Federal House Representative Challenger (Schafer)
10 Republican C. O’Donnell Miami University; Case Western Reserve University School of Law, J.D. Open Seat (Nelson)
10 Democrat M. Mentel Open Seat (Nelson)
10 Republican L. Sadler Miami University; The Ohio State University, B.S.; Capital University Law School, J.D. Municipal and common pleas judicial experience,  Assistant Columbus city attorney, Deputy Chief Legal Council to Gov. Voinovich Incumbent
10 Democrat T. Jamison Franklin University, B.S.; Capital University Law School, J.D. Common pleas judge Challenger (Sadler)
11 Republican M. Lynch John Carrol University Former chairman of the Bainbridge Board of Trustees, former Ohio Representative, 30 years of legal experience Challenger (Cannon)
11 Democrat T. Cannon John Carrol University; Cleveland Marshall College of Law, J.D. Former member of Lake County Board of Education and the Zoning Commission, member of the Lake County Bar Association Incumbent
11 Republican S. Kovoor Challenger (Rice)
11 Democrat C. Rice Purdue University, B.S.; University of Akron School of Law, J.D. Former Trumbull County prosecutor, Chief council for drug prosecution unit Incumbent
12 Republican M. Byrne The Ohio State University, J.D. Experienced at both the trial and appeals court level as a litigator, Open (Ringland)
12 Republican R. Hendrickson University of Cincinnati; Capital University Law School, J.D. Prosecutor in both Hamilton and Middletown municipal courts, warrant officer for Hamilton Municipal Court, 23 years of attorney experience Incumbent

Out of all the primaries this upcoming March, only three are contested. District 2 (Froelich’s seat) has two contestants vying for the GOP nomination. District 8 (both Blackmon and Headon’s seat) has 2 democrat primaries with 4 contestants in each race. District 12 (Ringland’s seat) has 4 contestants vying for the Republican nomination.