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Summit County, OH ballot

Marilyn Zayas

Democratic

Justice of the Supreme Court (Full term commencing 1-1-2027) · Summit County, Ohio · November 3, 2026

Also on the ballot: Daniel R. Hawkins (Republican)

Marilyn Zayas is a Hamilton County appellate judge and Democrat challenging incumbent Republican Justice Daniel Hawkins. She has not staked out policy positions but campaigns heavily on removing partisanship from the judiciary.

What this office decides

The Ohio Supreme Court is the state's highest court: seven justices elected statewide to six-year terms, listed with party labels since 2022. It has the final word on the Ohio Constitution, which puts it at the center of disputes over redistricting, abortion and other constitutional amendments, school funding, and the wording of statewide ballot issues, and it hears death-penalty appeals.

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 search result or article found Trump endorsing, opposing, or commenting on Zayas.

Who they are

Marilyn Zayas is a judge on Hamilton County's First District Court of Appeals, elected in 2016 as the first person of Latino heritage on an Ohio court of appeals and reelected in 2018 (CourtNews Ohio). A Democrat, she challenges Republican Justice Daniel R. Hawkins, who holds this seat after winning election in November 2024 (Ballotpedia). She practiced law for about 20 years in IP, public defense, and immigration law before becoming a judge (CourtNews Ohio).

Positions

  • Party politics in courts and agencies: Opposes politicizing the judiciary; criticized an April 2026 Ohio Supreme Court decision letting judges make political endorsements, saying 'courts aren't red or blue, they're about you' (Vindicator).
  • Voting rules, Personal freedom, Crime & policing, Schools: No public position found.

Record

No opinions of her own were found; she sits by Supreme Court assignment on Ohio appellate courts, including In re Dayton Power and Light Co. on electric-customer refunds (CourtNews Ohio). On the First District she created appeals guides for pro se litigants (CourtNews Ohio).

Money

For the filing period covering mid-April through early June 2026, Zayas reported raising over $94,000 with about $190,500 cash on hand, narrowing a gap that had exceeded $100,000 the prior period (OCJ).

Recent news

  • 2026-07-03: Filings show her narrowing Hawkins's cash-on-hand lead (OCJ).
  • 2026-07-15: Campaigns on judicial independence and less politics in the courts (Vindicator).
  • 2026-08-18: Business groups endorsed opponent Hawkins over her (WOSU).

What we couldn't find

  • No Trump endorsement or criticism found.
  • No breakdown of largest donors, only aggregate totals.
  • No stated position on other value axes.
Sources (8)