Republican
Colleen O'Donnell
Background and Bio
Colleen O’Donnell grew up in Seneca County, in Northwest Ohio. She earned her undergraduate degree in political science from Miami University and her J.D. from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Early in her legal career, she clerked in federal court and served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Section. She also worked at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and represented manufacturers and business clients in private practice at the law firm of Carpenter, Lipps & Leland LLP. She went on to serve nearly a decade as a judge on the Franklin County Common Pleas Court, before most recently serving as a U.S. Immigration Judge in Laredo, Texas. She currently lives in the Columbus area.
Policy Issue Summaries
- Judicial Philosophy and Interpretative Approach: Campaign materials describe O’Donnell’s judicial philosophy as “originalist,” stating that she gives laws the meaning they had at the time they were written and explicitly rejects the idea that the state or federal constitution is a living document. Her campaign highlights her record as a trial judge and later as a federal immigration judge as evidence of this approach to enforcing the law as written rather than exercising discretion.
- Criminal Justice and Public Safety: O’Donnell’s campaign materials emphasize the need for enforcement of the law, focusing on the role of the Ohio Supreme Court to uphold the rule of law and protect public safety. Her campaign points to her tenure as a federal immigration judge in Laredo, Texas, where she never granted asylum and consistently ordered removals as evidence of her track record of upholding the law and public safety.
Endorsements
- Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association
- Buckeye Firearms Association PAC
- Fraternal Order of Police, Ohio
- National Federation of Independent Business-Ohio
- Ohio Business Roundtable
- Ohio Chamber of Commerce PAC
- Ohio Farm Bureau Federation
- Ohio Manufacturers' Association
- Ohio Value Voters
- Ohio Right to Life PAC
- Ohio Society of CPAs PAC
Background and Bio
Colleen O’Donnell grew up in Seneca County, in Northwest Ohio. She earned her undergraduate degree in political science from Miami University and her J.D. from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Early in her legal career, she clerked in federal court and served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Section. She also worked at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and represented manufacturers and business clients in private practice at the law firm of Carpenter, Lipps & Leland LLP. She went on to serve nearly a decade as a judge on the Franklin County Common Pleas Court, before most recently serving as a U.S. Immigration Judge in Laredo, Texas. She currently lives in the Columbus area.
Policy Issue Summaries
- Judicial Philosophy and Interpretative Approach: Campaign materials describe O’Donnell’s judicial philosophy as “originalist,” stating that she gives laws the meaning they had at the time they were written and explicitly rejects the idea that the state or federal constitution is a living document. Her campaign highlights her record as a trial judge and later as a federal immigration judge as evidence of this approach to enforcing the law as written rather than exercising discretion.
- Criminal Justice and Public Safety: O’Donnell’s campaign materials emphasize the need for enforcement of the law, focusing on the role of the Ohio Supreme Court to uphold the rule of law and protect public safety. Her campaign points to her tenure as a federal immigration judge in Laredo, Texas, where she never granted asylum and consistently ordered removals as evidence of her track record of upholding the law and public safety.
Endorsements
- Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association
- Buckeye Firearms Association PAC
- Fraternal Order of Police, Ohio
- National Federation of Independent Business-Ohio
- Ohio Business Roundtable
- Ohio Chamber of Commerce PAC
- Ohio Farm Bureau Federation
- Ohio Manufacturers' Association
- Ohio Value Voters
- Ohio Right to Life PAC
- Ohio Society of CPAs PAC
Last Updated:2026-09-24
