aligned
Summit County, OH ballot

Kate A. Makra

Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (General Division) (Full term commencing 1-6-2027) · Summit County, Ohio · November 3, 2026

Also on the ballot: Mary Margaret Rowlands

Kate A. Makra is the Republican-aligned candidate on the certified November 2026 general-election ballot against incumbent Mary Margaret Rowlands, even though Megan Gabrail won this seat's May 2026 Republican primary. No campaign website, biography, or public positions could be confirmed for Makra, and the Akron Bar Association rated her "Not Acceptable" 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

Kate A. Makra appears opposite incumbent Mary Margaret Rowlands on the certified Nov. 3, 2026 general-election ballot for this seat (The Ballot Brief). She is not who won the seat's Republican primary: Signal Akron's May 2026 primary results list Megan Gabrail, not Makra, as the Republican candidate for the term commencing 1-6-2027 (Signal Akron), matching the Summit County Board of Elections' May 2026 election notice (Summit County BOE); no source found explains the change. She holds no judgeship now. The Akron Bar Association rated her "Not Acceptable" for 2026 (Akron Bar Association).

Positions

  • Crime & policing: No public position found; no campaign website or questionnaire response was located (The Ballot Brief).
  • Party politics in courts and agencies: No public statement found; Common Pleas nominees are chosen in partisan primaries but appear without a party label on the general-election ballot (Ballotpedia).

Record

Never held judicial office; no professional biography or employer confirmed for this specific candidate (The Ballot Brief). Akron Bar Association 2026 rating: Not Acceptable (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).

Recent news

  • 2026-05-05: Megan Gabrail, not Makra, won the Republican primary for this seat (Signal Akron).
  • 2026-09: Certified for the Nov. 3 ballot opposite incumbent Mary Margaret Rowlands (The Ballot Brief).

What we couldn't find

  • No campaign website or questionnaire response as of Sept. 9, 2026.
  • No explanation for the apparent substitution of Makra for primary winner Megan Gabrail.
  • No campaign finance data.
  • Other people named Kate/Kathryn Makra appear in web searches (an Ohio attorney and former prosecutor now leading an anti-abortion advocacy group), but none could be confirmed as this candidate.
Sources (5)