Lucas County Court of Common Pleas

Toledo'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 (partisan primaries, nonpartisan November ballot; only the appellate and Supreme Court races carry party labels).
• On the 2026 ballot: several divisional seats, two of them contested — Domestic Relations (incumbent Lisa McGowan vs. Nedal Adya) and the open Probate seat (longtime Judge Jack Puffenberger retiring; Tom Puffenberger vs. Shelly Kennedy). The General Division (Ian English) and Juvenile (Amy Stoner) seats are uncontested.

Connections

• A modestly contested bench in an otherwise safe-Democratic county — more competition than Franklin's uncontested court, less than Cuyahoga's or Hamilton's. Part of Toledo 2026 Elections.

Sources

• Lucas County, Ohio elections, 2026 (candidate roster) — Ballotpedia (retrieved 2026-07-06)
• Lucas County BOE ballot lookup (authoritative once certified) — Lucas County Board of Elections (retrieved 2026-07-06)
• Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals — Ballotpedia (retrieved 2026-07-06)
• Kaptur set for rematch with Merrin — Roll Call (retrieved 2026-07-06)
• Democratic attorney joins race for Ohio House District 44 — Toledo Blade (retrieved 2026-07-06)
• Paula Hicks-Hudson — Ballotpedia (retrieved 2026-07-06)
• Earned-income levy for Maumee schools on November ballot — Toledo Blade (retrieved 2026-07-06)
• TPS approves Transformation 2.0 plan, schools to close — 13abc (retrieved 2026-07-06)