State Rep. Richard Brown wins seat on Franklin County Court of Common Pleas

Ohio House Rep. Richard Brown, the endorsed Democrat, defeated Stephanie Hanna in the race for a seat on the bench in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, according to unofficial results.

With 100% of 888 precincts reporting, Brown had 55% of the vote and Hanna had 45%, according to the Franklin County Board of Elections. The results are unofficial until certified by the board.

Brown, who will give up his Ohio House 5th District seat to become judge, told The Dispatch he wanted to thank the voters for their confidence in him and congratulated Hanna on a well-run campaign.

"Becoming a judge is an opportunity for me to continue my public service and utilize my 42 years of experience as an attorney," Brown said. "I will endeavor to be the best judge I can be."

While disappointed with the results, Hanna congratulated Brown.

"I'm so proud of this campaign and everything it stood for and thankful for the outpouring of support we received along the way," she told The Dispatch. "I hope it inspired others to go for big things. I will still work to make sure Franklin County has the re-entry docket it deserves."

Brown has previously run for judge as a Democrat and Hanna has previously run for judge as a Republican before switching parties. Since no one is running in the Republican primary, the winner of the Democratic primary will win the judgeship in the November election.

It was the only contested judge seat out of nine available on Common Pleas Court in the March primary.

Incumbent Judge Dan Hawkins, a Republican, did not seek reelection to his seat and is instead running for Ohio Supreme Court justice. With Hawkins' departure, there will be only one Republican left on the county Common Pleas Court out of 24 judges.

This will be Brown's first and only term as a judge. Brown is 67 years old and Ohio law prohibits judge candidates from running if they would be 70 or older when they take office.

Brown, of Canal Winchester, could have sought one more term in the Ohio House before he would have been term-limited by state law. But Brown said he wanted to run for judge while there's an opening and he still can.

Hanna, 40, of Dublin, is currently a staff attorney in Franklin County Common Pleas Court for Judge Jeffrey Brown, where she helps manage the civil docket and draft decisions.

Hanna previously ran as a Republican twice: in 2016 for the Common Pleas Court General Division and again in 2020 for the Common Pleas Court Domestic Relations and Juvenile Division.

She is part of a trend as several Franklin County judges have switched parties from Republican to Democrat in recent years as the county has become a Democratic stronghold. But those judges who successfully switched and gained election benefited from the advantages that come with being incumbents.

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Franklin County primary election results for county judge race