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The Republican State Leadership Committee is pouring $600,000 into the Ohio campaign

The Republican State Leadership Committee is pouring 0,000 into the Ohio campaign

Less than a week before Election Day, the Republican State Steering Committee is investing $600,000 in Ohio television ads to help three GOP candidates for Ohio Supreme Court.

Republicans have held the majority on the court for nearly 40 years. Democrats are trying to re-elect two sitting judges and win an open seat. The GOP wants to expand its majority by sweeping all three races, which would give Republicans six of seven seats.

In addition to the $600,000 for TV ads, the group is investing nearly $400,000 in mail and digital ads.

The chair of the Republican State Leadership Committee’s Judicial Fairness Initiative, Dee Duncan, said in a written statement that the court’s decisions impact the future of the state and protect conservative principles.

A 30-second ad urges voters to support Joe Republicans discourageDan Hawkins and Megan Shanahan and criticize Democrats Melody StewartLisa Forbes and Michael Donnelly.

The ad focuses on a policy issue that Republicans have seen as a winner in 2022: bail conditions.

In January 2022, a divided Ohio Supreme Court ruled that excessive bail is unconstitutional and judges should consider a defendant’s flight risk when setting bail conditions, not the seriousness of the crime.

Prosecutors have long had the ability to request a hearing to argue that a defendant is too dangerous to stand trial and should be denied bail.

The January 2022 decision prompted Republicans to vote on a statewide constitutional amendment requiring judges to consider the seriousness of the crime and public safety when setting bail. Voters approved it.

That year, Republicans running for the Supreme Court campaigned on the bail issue. Republican Sharon Kennedy defeated Democrat Jennifer Brunner in a contest for chief justice, and Republicans Pat DeWine and Pat Fischer won re-election.

Also in 2022, party labels were added to candidates for the supreme and appellate courts for the first time in Ohio.

Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other Ohio affiliate news organizations.

This story has been updated to add additional information and a video.