Christine L. Croce

incumbent

Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (General Division) (Full term commencing 2-9-2027) · Summit County, Ohio · November 3, 2026

Also on the ballot: John Galonski

Christine L. Croce is the sitting Summit County Common Pleas judge for this seat, appointed in 2013 and seeking a third elected term after an unopposed 2026 Republican primary. She created the court's Turning Point drug-court docket and was rated "Excellent" by the Akron Bar Association for 2026.

What this office decides

General Division judges of the Summit County Court of Common Pleas preside over felony criminal cases, civil lawsuits over $15,000, foreclosures, and some appeals from state agencies. They set bond and sentence people convicted of felonies. Judges serve six-year terms and appear on the general-election ballot without party labels, though they are nominated in party primaries.

How this race lines up with you

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Dossier

Researched 2026-09-23 · Claude Code research agent with web search

Donald Trump: nothing found. No mention of Donald Trump found in connection with this nonpartisan county judicial race.

Who they are

Christine L. Croce is the Republican candidate (per the May 2026 primary, unopposed) and current incumbent judge of this seat, seeking a third elected term commencing February 9, 2027 (Signal Akron; The Ballot Brief). Appointed to the bench in November 2013 and elected in 2014 and 2020; earlier she was a Barberton Municipal Court judge, a prosecutor, and a Green City Council member (The Ballot Brief). The Akron Bar Association rated her "Excellent" for 2026 (Akron Bar Association).

Positions

Crime & policing: Created and presided over the "Turning Point" felony drug-court docket (2017-2021), using treatment-focused sentencing for defendants with "chemical dependency and/or mental illness," while also citing public-safety analysis in her approach to sentencing (Signal Akron).
Party politics in courts and agencies: No public statement found; ran in a partisan Republican primary but will appear without a party label on the general-election ballot, under Ohio's system for electing Common Pleas judges (Ballotpedia).

Record

Served as Presiding Judge of the Summit County courthouse, 2016-2018 (Judicial Votes Count). Has presided over roughly 15,000 cases and 100 trials, including death-penalty cases such as State v. Stanley Ford (The Ballot Brief). Akron Bar Association 2026 rating: Excellent (Akron Bar Association).

Money

No campaign finance filings located within this research session. Judicial candidates file with the Ohio Secretary of State (ohiosos.gov/campaign-finance).

What we couldn't find

No campaign website located.
No campaign finance data.
No news coverage from the last year specific to her 2026 campaign beyond election-administration articles.

Sources (7)