Tired of losing courts of appeals and Ohio Supreme Court races, Republicans changed the rules starting with the 2022 election — and have largely benefited.

The Republican-controlled state Legislature passed a law in 2021, which took effect with the 2022 election, requiring party affiliation on the ballot for those running for seats on courts of appeals and the Supreme Court.

Before that, candidates ran in party primaries and then didn’t have party affiliation in the general election. During the 2018 and 2020 elections, Democrats won three of four Supreme Court races and continued to have success in courts of appeals in districts that were Republican or heading in that direction.

Two of those courts of appeals are the Youngstown-based 7th District and the Warren-based 11th District.

Republicans didn’t care that the law change ruined their party’s chances in courts of appeals based in Democratic strongholds such as Cleveland and Columbus.

The impact was immediate.

In 2022, Mark A. Hanni ran as a Republican judicial candidate for the first time for a seat on the 7th District against Democrat Eugene Donofrio, a 30-year incumbent. Hanni won that election after a series of failed judicial campaigns as a Democrat or independent, and a couple of unsuccessful attempts to be appointed by the governor to vacant judicial seats.

That same year, Democrat Thomas R. Wright, who spent 12 years on the 11th District bench, lost to Republican Eugene A. Lucci, a longtime Lake County Common Pleas Court judge.

The 11th District includes Trumbull, Lake, Geauga, Portage and Ashtabula counties.

Lake, the district’s most-populous county, and Geauga are Republican strongholds while the other three have become red thanks to the rise of President Donald Trump.

In 2024, no Democrat filed for the court of appeals and the same thing happened this year. Unless the political climate changes tremendously, expect that trend to continue.

All five of the 11th District’s judges are Republican.

After this election, all four of the 7th District judges will be Republicans.

Just as in the 11th District, no Democrats filed in the 7th District’s 2024 election and that happened again this year.

Judge Cheryl Waite, the 7th District’s last Democrat who has served for 30 years, decided not to seek reelection this year.

Mahoning is, by far, the district’s most-populous and its lone swing county. But Mahoning used to be one of the most Democratic counties in Ohio so a judicial candidate could win big there and lose elsewhere in the district and get elected.

The other counties that make up the district — Columbiana, Belmont, Carroll, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe and Noble counties — are solidly Republican.

With Waite retiring and Carol Ann Robb, a Republican, unable to run for reelection because of the state’s age-limit law for judges, there are two open seats on the 7th District bench.

In the 11th District, incumbent Republican Robert J. Patton is running for reelection. He is unopposed.

The other seat is held by Republican Matt Lynch, who cannot run for reelection because of the age-limit law for judges. Lynch got around that restriction when he ran for a seat held by Democrat Timothy P. Cannon in 2020, two years after Lynch was elected to a different spot on the same court.

By doing so, Lynch ran safe and when he won, he got to stay on the court for an additional two years and pad his pension.

Running to succeed Lynch is Willoughby Municipal Court Judge Marisa Cornachio and David L. Engler, who started serving a six-year term last year as Trumbull County Domestic Relations/ Juvenile Division judge.

Engler is seeking to leave that job — he cannot run for reelection in 2030 because of the age-limit law — and join the 11th District. He had also pulled petitions for Trumbull County Probate Court judge.

Cornachio, first elected judge in 2017, has the endorsements of several prominent Republican officials in the district including its two U.S. House members — Dave Joyce and Max Miller — as well as two of the district’s state senators, all of the district’s Republican county prosecutors and even state Reps. Nick Santucci and David Thomas, who represent Trumbull County.

Engler didn’t file a campaign finance report with the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office for the seat for the second half of 2025. Cornachio had $19,272.26 in her campaign fund as of Dec. 31.

In the 7th District, Molly Johnson, a Mahoning County Area Court judge and civil litigator with her family’s law firm in Canfield, is facing Donald P. Scott, a retired Youngstown police officer and retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel for Robb’s seat. Scott unsuccessfully ran in 2021 as an independent for Youngstown council president and for council’s 7th Ward seat in 2019, when he lived in the city.

Johnson has a number of Republican endorsements, including U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, state Treasurer Robert Sprague and the chairmen of the Mahoning and Columbiana Republican parties.

Johnson loaned $140,000 to her campaign on Dec. 30 and raised $89,013.90, including $22,500 from her father, in the second half of 2025. With carryover, Johnson had $276,250 in her campaign fund as of Dec. 31.

In comparison, Scott reported $298.40 as of Dec. 31.

Scott said: “Our courts are not for sale. And I’m running to make sure they never are.”

Two Republicans filed for Waite’s seat — Hanni, who is trying to pull off what Lynch did in 2020, and David Comstock, a longtime attorney and Western Reserve Joint Fire District chief.

Hanni cannot run in 2028 for another term because of his age. If he wins, he gets another four years on the court. If he loses, he keeps his current position.

It is important to note Hanni is not running for reelection.

Hanni explained his decision, saying: “Next year, I will be the senior judge having only three years of experience. That is a red flag that I cannot ignore. To make our productivity improvements a permanent part of the 7th District Court of Appeals, I have decided that I need at least three additional years in office to accomplish that goal in order to mentor new judges and staff coming in.”

In the 2022 race, Hanni loaned $60,000 to his campaign while Donofrio gave $32,000 to his.

Hanni had $5,131.50 in his campaign fund as of Dec. 31.

Comstock loaned $39,500 to his campaign. After expenses, he had $16,593.24 in his fund as of Dec. 31.

When he decided to run, Comstock told me: “The goal is to put someone who is well-qualified on the (appeals) bench, and I’m at that point.”

David Skolnick covers politics for the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator