CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Four of the six partisan races on Ross County’s Nov. 3 general election ballot will go uncontested this fall, according to a certified candidate list released by the Ross County Board of Elections, including an unopposed bid by Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey C. Marks to become the county’s next probate and juvenile court judge.
Marks, who was elected to a second term as prosecutor in 2024 and holds that office through Dec. 31, 2028, instead filed for the Probate Court judgeship overseeing the county’s juvenile division, a seat with no listed opponent. Marks would leave roughly two years unexpired on his current term once he takes the bench early next year. Under Ohio’s process for filling vacancies in elected county offices, his successor as prosecutor would be chosen by the Ross County Republican Party’s central committee rather than by voters.
Three other races drew no opposition. County Auditor Jeff Lehner, first elected to the office in November 2022 after a career as a local businessman, is unopposed for another term that begins March 8, 2027. David S. Pinkerton, a Chillicothe businessman, filed unopposed for the county commissioner seat up for election this year, with a term set to begin Jan. 1, 2027. And 4th District Court of Appeals Judge Peter B. Abele, who has served on the appellate bench since 1991, drew no challenger for another term beginning Feb. 9, 2027.
Two countywide races will appear on the ballot as contests. In the 17th Ohio Senate District, which includes Ross, Fayette, Highland, Pike, Vinton and several other southern Ohio counties, incumbent Republican Sen. Shane Wilkin of Hillsboro faces Democrat Brian A. Deer of Ironton. Wilkin, a former Highland County commissioner who previously served in the Ohio House, chairs the Senate Public Utilities Committee.
In the 92nd Ohio House District, Republican state Rep. Mark Johnson of Chillicothe is seeking a fourth term against Democrat Sarah Senff of Chillicothe. Johnson won the seat in 2020 after predecessor Gary Scherer was term-limited, and Johnson himself would be barred by Ohio’s term limits from seeking re-election again if he wins in November.
The certified list includes only partisan races; no non-partisan candidates filed for county office this cycle, according to the board of elections.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Ross County Board of Elections.
