Ohio Supreme Court race heats up: 'My opponent has been a jurist for 17 minutes'

If you think the races for Ohio Supreme Court this year will be boring, turn your attention to the match-up between the two incumbent justices − Cleveland Democrat Melody Stewart and Cincinnati Republican Joe Deters.

On day one of the general election, it got spicy.

"Justice Deters decided not to run for the seat he was handed, I'm sorry, he was appointed to by the governor," Stewart said. She threw out another zinger: "I've been a jurist for 17 years. My opponent has been a jurist for 17 minutes."

In a written response, Deters said "Justice Stewart is entitled to her opinion."

Deters opted to run against Stewart, rather than seek election to the seat he currently holds. He might be the first justice in court history to try to knock another incumbent colleague off the bench, Stewart said in a press conference this week.

The court's pecking order by seniority means Stewart and Deters sit next to one another on the bench and in conference rooms. "Being in close proximity to your opponent and seeing him every day is a constant reminder of how hard some of us have to work to get where we are and how some others don't. And so, that's a little, let's say, annoying, she said."

She recounted how Deters lingered at the office one day to tell her he was going to run against her.

"I said to him, 'Are you kidding me, Joe? You're going to run against a sitting colleague?' He said 'I know. I detest it, I hate it, it's terrible but I had no choice. To get the appointment, I had to run to take out one of the Democrats.'"

Deters said that there was no deal made in exchange for his appointment to the court.

In 2022, incumbent justices, Democrat Jennifer Brunner and Republican Sharon Kennedy, ran against each other for the chief justice post, which was an open seat. Whoever lost would retain her seat on the bench. That's not the case in the Deters-Stewart race. One of them will be bumped off the court.

Stewart said as the general election fight gets underway, she hopes voters are willing to do their homework.

"If you find that my opponent is the better candidate, based on that objective evaluation, by all means, vote for him," Stewart said. "I just think voters would be hard-pressed to find that."

Both Stewart and Deters said that despite the campaign, the court remains collegial.

Who is Joe Deters?

Deters has been in the public eye for decades. He was Hamilton County Clerk of Courts from 1988 to 1992 and served two stints as Hamilton County prosecutor, including 2005 to 2022. And he served as state treasurer from 1999 to 2004.

Deters is the first person in 30 years to join the court without prior judicial experience. In December 2022, Gov. Mike DeWine appointed him to serve the remainder of Sharon Kennedy's term when she moved up to be chief justice, saying "I know him. I trust him."

The Deters and DeWine families hold close ties. Gov. DeWine appointed Justice Deters' brother, Dennis Deters, to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Deters hired Justice Pat DeWine's former law clerk, Mary Stier, into the Hamilton County prosecutor's office and brought her back to the court as his clerk. Stier and Justice DeWine are in a romantic relationship.

This year marks a return to campaigning statewide for Deters. He hasn't been on the statewide ballot in two decades.

As state treasurer, Deters' office got caught up in a political scandal. Two of his associates, Matt Borges and Eric Sagun, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges connected to a bribery investigation.

The two men, targets of a Cuyahoga County grand jury investigation, admitted funneling contributions to Deters' campaign from donors who were seeking to do business with the treasurer's office. The special prosecutor on the case said at the time there was insufficient evidence to determine whether Deters was aware of any criminal conduct.

Who is Melody Stewart?

Before she was a judge, she was a classically trained pianist, music teacher, health care administrator and professor. She holds a music degree from the University of Cincinnati, a law degree from Cleveland State University and a doctorate from Case Western Reserve University.

From 2006 to 2018, Stewart served on the 8th District Court of Appeals before running statewide.

In November 2018, she knocked off incumbent Republican Justice Mary DeGenaro, whom Gov. John Kasich appointed to the Supreme Court. Stewart became the first Black woman elected to the court, following in the footsteps of Yvette McGee Brown, the first Black woman appointed to the court. Stewart is the 161st justice, the 12th woman and the fourth Black person to serve on the Ohio Supreme Court.

When do Deters, Stewart vote together?

Ohio Republicans have controlled the majority of seats on the seven-member high court since 1986. The GOP currently holds four of the seven seats on the court.

The partisan divide is evident in some cases, such as redistricting, criminal sentencing and bail reform. But the court isn't as divided as it seems at first glance. Since 2019, most decisions - 63.5% - are unanimous, according to research done by the court.

When it comes to split decisions from the court, Stewart and Deters are on the same side about half the time.

In the split decisions since 2023 - Deters' first year on the bench - he aligned with Republican Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy and Justice Pat DeWine 84% and 88%, respectively.

That same year, Stewart aligned on split decisions most closely with Democrats Michael Donnelly and Jennifer Brunner, 80% and 71%, respectively.

With the retirement of former Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, the most likely swing vote on the court is now Cincinnati Republican Patrick Fischer. On split decisions, Fischer votes with the Dems a little more than a third of the time and with Republican justices about half the time.

Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Supreme Court candidates Joe Deters and Melody Stewart face off