Ajmeri Hoque was elected as the newest judge for the Franklin County Municipal Court, making the Democrat Ohio's first Muslim judge.
Hoque ran unopposed, getting more than 133,000 votes, according to unofficial results from the Franklin County Board of Elections. Hoque succeeds Judge James Green, a Republican, who was the county's longest serving judge for more than three decades.
Hoque was born in Bangladesh, moving to Columbus from New York City and graduated from Capital University Law School in Columbus. Hoque practiced as a prosecutor in Lancaster and defense attorney with her own practice in Columbus for years.
Recently, Hoque represented some of the student activists arrested by Ohio State University police during protests against Israel's war in Gaza.
Hoque thanked her family and supporters at a watch party for the Franklin County Democratic Party in Franklinton on Tuesday.
"While I did run unopposed, I do not take this lightly, the confidence that you've shown in me in taking and serving as a judge on Franklin County Municipal Court," Hoque said.
Hoque previously ran unsuccessfully for Dublin City Council in 2021. She is a member of the Franklin County Democrats' central committee.
Franklin County also elected Democrats Jessica D'Varga and incumbent Jodi Thomas to the Franklin County Municipal Court. Both were also unopposed.
