Who is running for Judge, Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, General Division (Unexpired term ending 1-14-2029) in 2026?

Magistrate, Hamilton County

Manisha Kotian is a Cincinnati lawyer with more than 30 years of experience who was recently sworn in as a magistrate in Hamilton County². Her career includes work with the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati and the Hamilton County Public Defender's office as a guardian ad litem for children, a solo family law and mediation practice since 1999, and ownership of a heavy highway concrete company from 2004 to 2024²³. She was a candidate for Domestic Relations judge in 2022³. She is on the November 3, 2026 ballot for the Common Pleas General Division unexpired term ending January 14, 2029¹. Ohio prints no party next to judicial candidates on the general election ballot, so this race is nonpartisan on the ballot.

• Magistrate, Hamilton County (recently sworn in, per her campaign site; court not specified there)²
• Solo practice from 1999: domestic relations, mediation and guardian ad litem work; trained mediator³²
• Guardian ad litem representing children, Hamilton County Public Defender's Office, 1997 to 1999; Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati³²
• AmeriCorps attorney assisting domestic violence victims, Legal Aid of Western Missouri, 1994 to 1996; earlier attorney at Goldberg, Persky, Jennings & White (1992 to 1993) and Hammond & Associates (1996 to 1997)³
• Owner, Tri-State Concrete Construction, a union heavy highway concrete company, 2004 to 2024²
• JD, University of Pittsburgh (1992); BBA in Management and Marketing, University of Cincinnati (1989)³
• Not a sitting judge. Nominated in the Democratic primary for the 2026 election¹⁴.
• 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 Manisha Kotian, 30 respondents reported contact. Of those, the share rating the candidate Excellent: administrative diligence 40%, communication skills 50%, community engagement 40%, integrity/impartiality/objectivity 43%, legal experience 50%, professionalism/temperament 43%. The share rating Below Average, in the same order: 13%, 17%, 20%, 17%, 23%, 13%⁵⁶.

Judge, Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, General Division

Leah Dinkelacker was appointed to the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas by Governor Mike DeWine on March 11, 2025 to fill the seat vacated when Megan Shanahan joined the Ohio Supreme Court, and took office March 24, 2025³². She had worked at the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office since 2012, most recently as assistant chief of the juvenile division³⁴. She must win the November 3, 2026 election to keep the seat for the unexpired term ending January 14, 2029¹². Ohio prints no party next to judicial candidates on the general election ballot, so this race is nonpartisan on the ballot.

• Judge, Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, General Division, since March 24, 2025³⁴
• Assistant Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney from 2012, in the Juvenile, Municipal and Felony divisions; assistant chief of the Juvenile Division for about two years before her appointment³⁴
• Constable for the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court beginning in 2009, during law school³⁴
• Appointed to the Supreme Court of Ohio's Commission on Professionalism⁴
• JD, Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Northern Kentucky University (2011); bachelor's degree in business, Miami University (2008)³
• Appointed by Governor Mike DeWine on March 11, 2025 to replace Megan E. Shanahan, who was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court; took office March 24, 2025 and must run in November 2026 for the unexpired term ending January 14, 2029³². Nominated in the Republican primary¹⁵.
• 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 Leah Dinkelacker, 82 respondents reported contact. Of those, the share rating the candidate Excellent: administrative diligence 56%, communication skills 56%, community engagement 45%, integrity/impartiality/objectivity 59%, legal experience 48%, professionalism/temperament 60%. The share rating Below Average, in the same order: 2%, 4%, 6%, 6%, 6%, 5%⁶⁷.
• On September 10, 2025 she sentenced Desean Brown to two consecutive terms of life without parole after he pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated murder in the killings of Nyteisha Lattimore and her 3-year-old son Nylo; the sentence followed the prosecution's recommendation under the plea agreement (WCPO)⁸.