Donald Trump's epic re-election victory on Tuesday night saw him expand his popularity in the former swing state of Ohio, as Republicans flipped a Senate seat there and stormed the state's Supreme Court.
The GOP won all three state Supreme Court races, handing them 6-1 control starting in January. The bench is currently split 4-3.
Republican Justice Joseph Deters left his own Supreme Court seat to run for a full term against Democrat Melody Stewart - and won. Governor Mike DeWine (R) had appointed Deters, a former Hamilton County prosecutor, to fill a vacancy in 2023.
Another Republican, Judge Dan Hawkins defeated Democratic Judge Lisa Forbes to serve the remaining two years in Deters' open seat. Republican Megan Shanahan defeated Democrat Michael Donnelly to round out the GOP's sweep of the top court.
The expanded control will presumably give Republicans leverage on contentious issues such as abortion and election integrity. However, the victorious Republican justices pledged to follow the law, not prescribe it.
“I’m honored and grateful to the millions of Ohioans who have put their trust in me to be their Ohio Supreme Court Justice,” Shanahan posted on her campaign Facebook page.
“I’ll be true to what I campaigned on and will be a Supreme Court Justice who knows that my job is to interpret the law, not to make it. I’ll go to work each day and focus on protecting Ohio’s citizens, communities, and constitution.”
Ohio, a state Barack Obama won in 2012, has been shifting red since President Trump flipped the state in 2016. Trump lifted his vice president-elect, J.D. Vance, to a Senate victory in Ohio in 2022.
In another sign of Ohio's red shift, Trump-endorsed Bernie Moreno soundly defeated Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown on Tuesday.
With Republicans projected to win back the Senate, President Trump will have an opportunity in his second term to solidify the 6-3 conservative majority on the United States Supreme Court, which he pushed rightward during his first term.
Trump delivered a dominating performance nationwide on Tuesday, sweeping every battleground state and putting himself on the path to a popular vote victory.
Trump's commanding 12-point margin in Ohio was the largest of any presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan's 1984 landslide.
President Trump's victory resonated throughout the Rust Belt as he secured a path back to the White House in the "blue wall" states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
