Lisa Forbes & Dan Hawkins

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Disclaimer: As judicial candidates often refrain from publicly stating their positions on specific issues, we've examined their financial backers—especially those with strong views on potential court matters—to provide insight into their possible leanings.

Lisa Forbes

Democrat

Dan Hawkins

Republican

 

Health Care

  • Research could not find a clear stance on healthcare for Judge Lisa Forbes.

  • After Ohioans voted overwhelmingly to enshrine abortion rights protections in the state Constitution, Forbes promised to uphold the will of the voters, saying, “It’s the job of the branches of government to do their will.”

  • Research could not find a clear stance on healthcare for Judge Dan Hawkins.

  • Judge Dan Hawkins’ is funded by Republicans in Congress who have consistently opposed reproductive freedom and cosponsored bills to establish that life begins at conception and ban any federal funding for abortion and Planned Parenthood as an organization [1]. Additionally, these Republican Congressmen voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act and against The Ensuring Access to Abortion Act of 2022 [2]. 

Working Families

  • Research could not find a clear stance on working families for Judge Lisa Forbes.

  • Research could not find a clear stance on economic security for Judge Lisa Forbes.

  • The Ohio Chamber of Commerce, which has given Hawkins thousands, opposes Prevailing Wage laws.  These laws support high wages, expand health insurance coverage, and protect pension plans [3]. 

  • Research could not find a clear stance on economic security for Judge Dan Hawkins.

Child Care

  • Judge Lisa Forbes serves on the board of The Centers for Families and Children, a group of Ohio-based centers that provide affordable Head Start and child care programs, home-based learning services, and free meals to students and attendees [1]. 

  • Judge Dan Hawkins’ is funded by politicians who have opposed expanding affordable child care access billions in child care and increased child tax credits. 

Social Security

  • Research could not find a clear stance on Social Security for Judge Lisa Forbes.

  • Research could not find a clear stance on Social Security for Judge Dan Hawkins.

Criminal Justice Reform

  • Judge Lisa Forbes’  funders support sweeping criminal justice reforms, including banning chokeholds and carotid holds and permitting deadly force only to prevent an imminent threat to life [2]. 

    They also support sentencing reforms like repealing mandatory minimums and ending sentencing disparities between minority groups and white Americans. Her supporters also favor decriminalization of marijuana and legalization for medical purposes [3].

  • Judge Dan Hawkins is a vocal opponent of bail reform, railing against an Ohio Supreme Court decision that ruled that a judge can’t consider public safety when setting bail for defendants [4]. He supported Issue 1 in 2022, which overruled that court decision via referendum, and said, “It is wrong to think that judges keep people injail for simply being poor [5].”

    Hawkins’ supporters oppose criminal justice reform [6]. His Republican funders in Washington voted against the Justice in Policing Act, which prohibits profiling in law enforcement, and from teh Ohio Chamber of Commerce, which opposes both medical and recreational marijuana legalization [7]. 

Education

  • Judge Lisa Forbes received support from the Ohio Association of Public School Employees [4]. The organization champions improved funding for public schools, opposes public tax dollars going to private and religious schools through vouchers, and even filed a motion supporting a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Ohio’s voucher System [5].

  • Judge Dan Hawkins has taken campaign funding from Republicans who oppose student loan relief, one of whom asserted that student debt is an important tool in teaching people lessons on taking on debt [8]. 

    In Ohio, 59% of college graduates have student loan debt, averaging over $30,000. Student debt also disproportionately affects minority students, with black students owning an average of 188% more than white students just four years after graduation [9]. 

Election Reform

  • Judge Lisa Forbes did not take a public stance on redistricting issues in Ohio’s Supreme Court but has criticized Republicans for continually pushing back against rulings striking down unconstitutional legislative and congressional maps [6]. Her  supporters also endorsed  Citizens, Not Politicians ballot issue, which would completely remove politicians from the redistricting process. They also support expanding early voting, absentee voting and establishing additional ballot drop boxes [7]. 

  • Judge Dan Hawkins’ Republican Party funders have consistently worked to erode voting rights [10]. They blocked legislation that would establish a public financing system powered by small donations and require super PACs to make their donors public [11]. This legislation would help protect our nation’s citizens from discriminatory voting practices and restore the ability to mount legal challenges to anti-democratic voting measures [12]. 

Footnotes

Disclaimer: As judicial candidates often refrain from publicly stating their positions on specific issues, we've examined their financial backers—especially those with strong views on potential court matters—to provide insight into their possible leanings.