Judge, Hamilton County Municipal Court

Donte Johnson has been a Hamilton County Municipal Court judge since December 2021 and was re-elected in 2023 as the top vote-getter for a term beginning January 3, 2024². Before the bench he was a public defender, a housing attorney for the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority, and a solo practitioner in criminal defense, plaintiff's litigation and probate³². He is on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Common Pleas General Division, term commencing January 1, 2027¹. Ohio prints no party next to judicial candidates on the general election ballot, so this race is nonpartisan on the ballot.

• Judge, Hamilton County Municipal Court, since December 2021; re-elected in 2023 to a full term commencing January 3, 2024²
• Private practice attorney (criminal defense, plaintiff's litigation, probate)³²
• Attorney, Hamilton County Public Defender's Office, handling cases from disorderly conduct to aggravated murder³
• Housing attorney, Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority³
• JD, University of Cincinnati College of Law; BA, Howard University; attorney since 2010²³
• Elected to the Hamilton County Municipal Court in November 2021 and re-elected in 2023². Nominated in the Democratic primary for the 2026 Common Pleas race¹⁴.
• Bar poll: Cincinnati Bar Association 2026 Hamilton County Judicial Candidate Poll. The CBA describes it as a confidential, nonpartisan survey sent to its active attorney members (the results sheet says 2,500 members of the Cincinnati legal community); 170 members responded, rating only candidates they had contact with in the past four years, on six categories, with a stated margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent. It is a non-binding member survey of attorney opinion, not an endorsement or a rating by the bar association. For Donte Johnson, 63 respondents reported contact. Of those, the share rating the candidate Excellent: administrative diligence 49%, communication skills 56%, community engagement 46%, integrity/impartiality/objectivity 54%, legal experience 43%, professionalism/temperament 54%. The share rating Below Average, in the same order: 11%, 8%, 10%, 13%, 16%, 11%⁵⁶.