Valarie Gerlach

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Valarie Gerlach

---

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 6, 2018

Valarie Gerlach (Democratic Party) ran for election for judge of the Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals. She lost in the general election on November 6, 2018.

Although Ohio held partisan judicial primaries, general judicial elections were officially nonpartisan.

Gerlach was previously a candidate for the Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals in the 2016 elections. She defeated Paul Price in the March 15 primary and faced incumbent Judge Matthew McFarland in the November 8 general election. Gerlach was defeated.

Elections

2018

General election

General election for Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals

Mike Hess defeated Valarie Gerlach in the general election for Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Hess (R)	61.1	102,284
	Submit photo	Valarie Gerlach (D)	38.9	65,229

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 167,513
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals

Valarie Gerlach advanced from the Democratic primary for Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Valarie Gerlach	100.0	18,539

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 18,539
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals

Mike Hess defeated Kathleen Madden in the Republican primary for Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Hess	60.9	25,244
	Submit photo	Kathleen Madden	39.1	16,209

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 41,453
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Selection method

The judges of the Ohio District Courts of Appeals are selected through partisan primary elections followed by nonpartisan general elections. Courts of appeals candidates are chosen in their respective appellate districts. In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement. The appointee serves until the next general election taking place 40 or more days after the vacancy occurred. If re-elected, the judge serves the remainder of his or her predecessor's unexpired term. In 2007, Governor Ted Strickland issued an executive order creating a judicial appointment recommendation panel to assist in making new appointments. The panel evaluates applicants and advises the governor, but the governor is not bound to the panel's recommendations.

Qualifications

To serve on the court, a judge must be:

• a district resident;
• at least six years in the practice of law; and
• under the age of 70.

Selection of the chief judge

The chief judge of the Ohio District Courts of Appeal is chosen by peer vote and serves for one year.

2016

Gerlach filed to run for a seat on the Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals, which is held by Judge Matthew McFarland. She defeated Paul Price in the Democratic primary on March 15 and faced incumbent Judge Matthew McFarland in the general election on November 8.

Election results

November 8 general election

Incumbent Matthew McFarland defeated Valarie Gerlach in the general election for the Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals, McFarland's seat.

Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals, McFarland's Seat, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Matthew McFarland Incumbent	66.36%	130,609
	Democratic	Valarie Gerlach	33.64%	66,218
Total Votes (100% reporting)				196,827
Source: Ohio Secretary of State Official Results

March 15 primary election

Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals, Judge McFarland's Seat Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Valarie Gerlach	55.95%	22,595
	Democratic	Paul Price	44.05%	17,787
Total Votes				40,382
Source: Ohio Secretary of State Official Results

See also

• Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals
• Judicial selection in Ohio
• Courts in Ohio
• State judicial elections, 2018
• Ohio intermediate appellate court elections, 2018

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Ohio Courts of Appeals

Footnotes

Ballotpedia

About

Overview • What people are saying • Support Ballotpedia • Contact • Contribute • Job opportunities

---

Executive: Leslie Graves, Founder and CEO • Gwen Beattie, Chief Operating Officer

Communications: Alison Graves, Director of Communications • Carley Allensworth • Abigail Campbell • Frank Festa • Sarah Groat • Nathaniel Harwood • Dillon Redmond • Erica Shumaker
External Relations: Geoff Pallay, Director of External Relations • Ken Carbullido, Vice President of Election Product and Technology Strategy • Ashley Fleming • Thomas Mardik • Hannah Nelson
Operations: Meghann Olshefski, Director of Operations • Amanda Herbert • Mandy Morris • Caroline Presnell • Kelly Rindfleisch
Tech: Matt Latourelle, Director of Technology Operations • Ryan Burch • Kirsten Corrao • Beth Dellea • Travis Eden • Tate Kamish • Margaret Kearney • Eric Lotto • Joseph Sanchez • Mary Susmitha

Contributors: Scott Rasmussen

---

Editorial Content

Josh Altic, Director of Content • Daniel Anderson, Associate Director of Elections & Data • Cory Eucalitto, Associate Director of Features • Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor of Ballot Measures • Mandy McConnell, Managing Editor of News • Doug Kronaizl, Managing Editor of Local Expansion • Abbey Smith, Managing Editor of Elections • Janie Valentine, Managing Editor of Law • Joel Williams. Managing Editor of Events • Andrew Bahl • Jaclyn Beran • Marielle Bricker • Joseph Brusgard • Emma Burlingame • Kelly Coyle • Jon Dunn • Thomas Ellis • Nicole Fisher • Joseph Greaney • Thomas Grobben • Brianna Hosea • Molly Kehoe • Tyler King • Glorie Martinez • Norm Leahy, Senior Editor • Nathan Maxwell • Jimmy McAllister • Brandon McCauley • Ellie Mikus • Ellen Morrissey • Mackenzie Murphy • Kaley Platek • Samantha Post • Adam Powell • Annelise Reinwald • Ethan Rice • Spencer Richardson • Victoria Rose • Briana Ryan • Myj Saintyl • Maddy Salucka • Emma Soukup • Alexis Thacker • Mina Vogel • Samuel Wonacott • Trenton Woodcox

Ohio courts

---

Federal courts:

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Ohio • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Ohio

State courts:

Ohio Supreme Court • Ohio District Courts of Appeal • Ohio Courts of Common Pleas • Ohio County Courts • Ohio Municipal Courts • Ohio Court of Claims

State resources:

Courts in Ohio • Ohio judicial elections • Judicial selection in Ohio