Pink Rose Society

Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas

Cincinnati's county trial court of general jurisdiction — felonies, major civil suits, and, through its divisions, family, juvenile, and estate matters.

Key facts

  • Trial-court judges serve 6-year terms and appear on the general-election ballot without party labels (they run in partisan primaries; only the appellate and Supreme Court races carry party labels).
  • On the 2026 ballot: seven genuinely contested judgeships — several General Division seats plus Probate (Elizabeth Tye vs. incumbent Ralph Winkler) and Juvenile (incumbent Kari Bloom vs. Susan Luken). Democratic challengers target Republican-held seats (Goering, McDowell, Dinkelacker, Winkler) while Republicans contest Democratic-held ones.
  • Several other seats (Wagner, Cross, Hatheway, the Drug Court, and an open Domestic Relations seat) drew no opponent.

Connections

Sources