State Supreme Court Races: How Republicans Win

We’ve been dwelling a good deal on the failures of Republican campaigns in 2022, but there are some bright spots as well. One of those can be found in the races for elected state supreme courts. Republicans made major gains of vast significance on the North Carolina and Ohio supreme courts.

Both states were chief targets for both parties, and the stakes were high. The Republican State Leadership Committee, which picked its battles this year in secretary of state races, made these two courts a priority. In Ohio, Republicans were playing defense — or so it seemed. Maureen O’Connor, the Republican chief justice of a court divided 4–3 between Republicans and Democrats, was retiring due to age limits. Two other Republican justices were up for reelection, Pat Fischer and Pat DeWine — the latter having the advantage of running alongside his father’s landslide reelection as governor.

About the Author

Dan McLaughlin

Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review Online and a fellow at National Review Institute.

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We’ve been dwelling a good deal on the failures of Republican campaigns in 2022, but there are some bright spots as well. One of those can be found in the races for elected state supreme courts. Republicans made major gains of vast significance on the North Carolina and Ohio supreme courts.

Both states were chief targets for both parties, and the stakes were high. The Republican State Leadership Committee, which picked its battles this year in secretary of state races, made these two courts a priority. In Ohio, Republicans were playing defense — or so it seemed. Maureen O’Connor, the Republican chief justice of a court divided 4–3 between Republicans and Democrats, was retiring due to age limits. Two other Republican justices were up for reelection, Pat Fischer and Pat DeWine — the latter having the advantage of running alongside his father’s landslide reelection as governor.