WARREN — Cynthia Westcott Rice, elected five times as a judge as a Democrat, filed to run for reelection as a Republican for her seat on the Trumbull County Common Pleas Court bench.

“I switched parties because (being a Republican) is where I feel comfortable,” Rice said. “I was born and raised as a Republican and only switched in 1992 when my husband ran for office. That was my only connection” to the Democratic Party.

Asked why she decided to switch now, Rice said, “It’s a good time for me personally. It seems like the entire makeup of our community has shifted. The Republican Party has welcomed me with open arms, so I made the switch. It’s been very refreshing. All of our community leaders are Republicans, and we don’t seem to have community leaders who are Democrats. Things have changed, so I have changed.”

Rice said being a Republican “just feels like a good fit for me. There’s been such a shift in our area.”

Meanwhile, Devon Stanley, a Liberty trustee as well as Girard Municipal Court prosecutor and the county’s deputy clerk of courts, filed Tuesday as a Republican for the seat currently held by Rice.

Stanley faces a felonious assault charge for an alleged domestic violence altercation Oct. 23 involving his wife.

Because of the state’s age-limit law for judges, this is the last time Rice can run for common pleas court judge.

Common pleas court judges don’t run with party affiliation in the general election. But the winners of Republican judicial primaries are part of the party’s advertising and slate cards.

With Trumbull spending decades as a reliable Democratic county and then becoming Republican in the past few years, largely due to the popularity of President Donald Trump, other Democrats have switched party affiliation and run as Republicans. That includes county Engineer David DeChristofaro, who previously served in that office as a Democrat, and Treasurer Agostino Ragozzino, both elected in 2024.

Republicans won every contested race on the 2022 and 2024 ballots in Trumbull County.

Rice has a long history with the Democratic Party, voting in its primaries for several years. Though party affiliation wasn’t listed on general election ballots, Rice was first elected as a Democrat in 2002 to the 11th District Court of Appeals and reelected in 2008, 2014 and 2020. She also unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat in 2016 for a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court.

Since 2022, party affiliations for Supreme Court and courts of appeals candidates in Ohio have been included on general election ballots.

Rice was the Democratic nominee in 2022 for an open common pleas court seat left vacant after the early retirement of Judge Peter Kontos, a Democrat.

Rice ended up running unopposed for the seat when Sarah Thomas Kovoor, the Republican nominee, was ruled ineligible by Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, and the Republican-controlled Ohio Supreme Court. Kovoor also lost a federal lawsuit over the issue.

Kovoor was ruled ineligible because of the state’s “sore loser” statute because she had unsuccessfully run for an 11th District seat in the Republican primary earlier in 2022.

Kovoor would go on to win a common pleas court seat in 2024 and serve with Rice.

The two also serve on the common pleas bench with Ronald Rice, Cynthia’s estranged husband.

She filed for divorce July 16, citing “gross neglect of duty, extreme cruelty and adultery,” according to the Trumbull County court docket. She was granted a restraining order against her husband five days after the filing. The contested divorce is still pending, with the case expected to begin April 16.

PARTY REACTIONS

Trumbull County Republican Party Chairwoman Julia Shutt said she welcomes Cynthia Westcott Rice as a GOP candidate.

“I am glad to have her,” Shutt said. “She brings a lot of insight as a strong individual to the party. It’s a big tent party. Some don’t feel that way. But we welcome anyone who wants to be a Republican and has conservative values, believes in not raising taxes, having safer communities and better schools. That is where she’s at, and we welcome her.”

Kathy DiCristofaro, Trumbull County Democratic Party vice chairwoman, said she was surprised to learn Rice switched parties without telling her.

“To leave the party, I wasn’t expecting that,” she said. “I wasn’t aware until I saw it at the board of elections. I can’t say the party isn’t disappointed.”

The party won’t field a candidate against Rice in the election, DiCristofaro said.

DiCristofaro disputed Rice’s statements about having little connection to the Democratic Party.

DiCristofaro said, “I have deep respect for her judicial intellect, but she didn’t let me know about her decision. She always worked hard for the party and was an active participant in our coordinated campaigns.”