Rep. Synenberg Calls on Ohio Supreme Court to Uphold Judicial Endorsement Ban

COLUMBUS — State Rep. Eric Synenberg (D-Beachwood) today announced the recent introduction of legislation urging the Supreme Court of Ohio to find the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct Rule that prohibits judges from endorsing a candidate for office to be constitutional. 

“The moment judges start becoming partisan players is the moment people stop trusting that they are acting impartially. Ohio continues a dangerous trend of injecting partisan influence into our judicial branch. First, by allowing judges to run with party affiliations, and now by overturning 70 years of precedent meant to preserve the integrity and credibility of the judicial system,” said Rep. Synenberg. “Ohio is now the only state in the country that allows judges to endorse legislative and executive political candidates. As Justice Pat Fischer noted in his dissent, the public and the bar deserve better from our state’s highest court.” 

House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 43 reaffirms that the Supreme Court of Ohio should have exercised judicial restraint in overturning Ohio’s anti-endorsement rule outlined in Judicial Conduct Rule 4.1(A)(3), when ruling in Disciplinary Counsel v. Rudduck, decided on April 2, 2026. HCR 43 urges the court to reestablish its 70-year-old precedent requiring that judges remain politically independent. 

HCR 43 has been referred to Judiciary Committee.