Judge Lynch beats Dem primary opponent

Tops the party-endorsed candidate Boyle

Longtime Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Julie M. Lynch has a shot at keeping her seat on the bench after winning a Democratic primary election on Tuesday against the party-endorsed candidate, Michael J. Boyle.

According to final, unofficial results from the Franklin County Board of Elections, Lynch won 52.4% to 47.6%. This was the only contested Franklin County race on Tuesday’s primary ballot.

Lynch, who was first elected to the bench in 2005, switched her party affiliation from Republican to Democrat in 2019, a move some observers theorized was to help her win reelection in an increasingly blue county. The Franklin County Democratic Party chose not to support Lynch, but instead endorsed Boyle.

Lynch said she has the same message for her constituents that she’s had for nearly two decades.

“I’m very, very grateful to the people I’ve served, and I so much appreciate their confidence in me as a public servant and I look forward to continuing my service to them,” Lynch said. “I live in an awesome county and I have awesome constituents.”

Lynch will face Republican Jessica Barwell, who was unopposed in the primary, in the November general election. Barwell is a Columbus attorney with the law firm Wesp Barwell, specializing in corporate law.

“I will work as hard in the general as I have in the primary,” Lynch said.

Boyle is an attorney in the Columbus office of law firm Meyer Wilson, which he joined in 2013, specializing in class action lawsuits.

“I’m proud of the race that we ran,” Boyle said.

County Common Pleas judges in Ohio serve six-year terms and will make a salary of $155,485 in 2022.

jlaird@dispatch.com