Cynthia Rice

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Cynthia Rice

Democratic Party

Prior offices:

Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals

Years in office: 2003 - 2023

Successor: Robert Patton (R)

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Purdue University, 1980

Law

University of Akron School of Law, 1985

Cynthia Rice (Democratic Party) was a judge of the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals. She assumed office on February 10, 2003. She left office on June 5, 2023.

Rice (Nonpartisan, Democratic Party) ran for re-election for judge of the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals. Rice won in the general election on November 3, 2020. She advanced from the Democratic primary on April 28, 2020.

Rice was a 2016 candidate for the Ohio Supreme Court. She was defeated by Pat DeWine.

Education

Judge Rice received a B.A. from Purdue University in 1980 and a J.D. from the University of Akron School of Law in 1985.

Career

• 2003 - Present: Judge, Eleventh District Court of Appeals
• 1999-2002: Assistant U.S. attorney, United States Attorney’s Office, Department of Justice, Youngstown, Ohio
• 1991-1999: Assistant prosecutor, Trumbull County
• 1989-1993: Attorney in private practice
• 1989: Admitted to the Ohio Bar

Awards and associations

• Member, Ohio State Bar Association
• Member, Trumbull County Bar Association
• 1996-1997: President, Trumbull County Bar Association

Elections

2020

See also: Ohio intermediate appellate court elections, 2020

General election

General election for Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals

Incumbent Cynthia Rice defeated Sarah Thomas Kovoor in the general election for Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cynthia Rice (Nonpartisan)	51.0	166,310
		Sarah Thomas Kovoor (Nonpartisan)	49.0	159,486

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 325,796
= 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.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals

Incumbent Cynthia Rice advanced from the Democratic primary for Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals on April 28, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cynthia Rice	100.0	52,570

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 52,570
= 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 Eleventh District Court of Appeals

Sarah Thomas Kovoor advanced from the Republican primary for Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals on April 28, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sarah Thomas Kovoor	100.0	45,453

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 45,453
= 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.

2016

See also: Ohio Supreme Court elections, 2016

Rice ran for the Ohio Supreme Court. She faced Ohio First District Court of Appeals Judge Pat DeWine in the general election on November 8, 2016. Incumbent Paul Pfeifer was ineligible for re-election because he reached the mandatory retirement age.

Election results

November 8 general election

Pat DeWine defeated Cynthia Rice in the general election for the Ohio Supreme Court, Pfeiffer's seat.

Ohio Supreme Court, Pfeifer's Seat, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Pat DeWine	56.31%	2,438,641
	Democratic	Cynthia Rice	43.69%	1,892,450
Total Votes (100% reporting)				4,331,091
Source: Ohio Secretary of State Official Results

March 15 primary

Ohio Supreme Court, Justice Pfiefer's Seat Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Cynthia Rice  (unopposed)	100.00%	807,997
Total Votes				807,997
Source: Ohio Secretary of State Official Results

Ohio State Bar Association rating

The Ohio State Bar Association's 25-member Commission on Judicial Candidates rates each supreme court candidate as either "not recommended," "recommended," "highly recommended," or "superior." Below are the ratings each 2016 candidate received.

A candidate who is rated "not recommended" received favorable evaluations from less than 60 percent of the commission members. A rating of "recommended" means that the candidate received favorable evaluations from more than 60 percent of the commission members. Those candidates rated "recommended" are subject to a second poll of the commission members; a vote of more than 70 percent of the commission raises that candidate's rating to "highly recommended." Those so rated are subject to a third poll; a vote of more than 80 percent of the commission will raise a "highly recommended" candidate to a rating of "superior."

Ohio State Bar Association Ratings, 2016
Candidate	Rating
Cynthia Rice	Highly Recommended
Pat DeWine	Not Recommended
Source:	Ohio State Bar Association

Endorsements

• United Auto Workers, Ohio
• Ohio Association of Public School Employees
• Ohio AFL-CIO
• Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio
• The Canton Repository

Campaign finance

In addition to the above funds, Cynthia Rice's campaign has an outstanding loan of $83,299 as of August 31, 2016.

Ads

The Democratic Party of Ohio launched an online video ad for Cynthia Rice. The ad focuses on Rice's character, upbringing, work ethic, and ties to Ohio and features her family members. You may view the ad here.

Polling

A poll was conducted of 500 likely voters in June by Lake Research Partners, a firm that describes itself as advancing progressive ideals. Cynthia Rice (D) and Pat DeWine (R) polled neck and neck, within the margin of error.

Cynthia Rice (D) v. Pat DeWine (R), Ohio Supreme Court
Poll	Cynthia Rice	Pat DeWine	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Lake Research Partners (a Democrat-affiliated firm) (June 8-13, 2016)	22%	24%	37%	+/-4.4	500
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2014

See also: Ohio judicial elections, 2014
Rice ran for re-election to the Eleventh District Court of Appeals.
General: She defeated Geoffrey W. Weaver in the general election on November 4, 2014, receiving 56.7 percent of the vote.  

Endorsements

• Ohio AFL-CIO
• Lake County Ohio Democratic Party

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Cynthia Rice did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

See also

2020 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

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Footnotes

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