Ohio Capital Journal: Democrats set sights on protecting, adding to Ohio Supreme Court seats
May 8, 2026
COLUMBUS, OH – Ohio Democrats have “set sights on protecting, adding to Ohio Supreme Court seats,” as attacks on Ohioans’ freedoms escalate – like on voting rights and abortion access. Democrats barrel into the general election with strong candidates in Justice Jennifer Brunner and Judge Marilyn Zayas who are committed to upholding the rule of law and protecting Ohioans’ rights and freedoms.
While Republicans’ candidate attempting to go against Justice Brunner enters the general election with a long ways to go in uniting GOP support after a crowded primary, Democrats are united around Justice Brunner, and Judge Zayas, who are making clear that “the state is at a crossroads,” and people “are losing faith in our court because of politics.”
Read more about Democrats’ opportunity in 2026 to elect Justices to the Supreme Court who will uphold the rule of law and defend Ohioans’ freedoms.
Ohio Capital Journal: Democrats set sights on protecting, adding to Ohio Supreme Court seats
Democratic judges have an uphill battle to change the 6-1 Ohio Supreme Court, where Justice Jennifer Brunner is an island unto herself in a sea of Republican justices. But she and another judge making a run for a seat in November sense a change in the winds when it comes to Democratic support, both in the judicial system and elsewhere.
“As I travel the state, I am taken by the movement, the energy, the sort of undertow that I’m sensing from the counties around the state,” Brunner said at the Ohio Democratic Party’s primary night event on Tuesday.
Brunner has been on the court since 2021, but until last year, she shared the bench with two other Democratic justices.
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Brunner will now face off against Republican challenger and former Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Colleen O’Donnell, who edged out a crowded primary field of appellate judges on Tuesday, garnering 32% of the vote in unofficial results from the Ohio Secretary of State.
She succeeded in the election with a margin of less than 18,000 votes between her and her closest opponent, Fifth District Court of Appeals Judge Andrew King.
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Brunner told the crowd of Democratic supporters that she wants to be “part of the foundation and the strong shoulders that people like (governor candidate Dr.) Amy Acton can stand on.”
She said the energy she’s seen from voters shows a dissatisfaction with the way government is working, particularly the Republican leadership at the federal level.
“We know we all have problems in our lives … and every time we look up thinking we might get a little hope, what we get out of Washington is this din, and this craziness, and this sense that this is not our country,” she said.
If Brunner loses the Nov. 3 election, and Justice Dan Hawkins defends his seat against a Democratic challenger, First District Court of Appeals Judge Marilyn Zayas, the Ohio Supreme Court will be a full 7-0 Republican panel.
In her campaign to join Brunner on the court, Zayas also feels a different energy in the 2026 election.
“I’m seeing how we are losing faith in our court because of politics, and politics has no place in our Ohio Supreme Court,” said Zayas, who was unopposed in her primary race.
Zayas said the state is at a crossroads, one in which wins for the two Democrats in 2026 could provide opportunities for more judges in 2028.
“We have to do this, because the alternative is way too dire,” Zayas said.
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