Matt Lynch

For the Scottish footballer, see Matt Lynch (footballer).
For the basketball coach, see Matt Lynch (basketball).

Matt Lynch
Judge of the Ohio Court of Appeals
for the 11th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 8, 2021
Preceded byTimothy Cannon
Judge of the Ohio Court of Appeals
for the 11th district
In office
February 9, 2019 – February 8, 2021
Preceded byColleen Mary O'Toole
Succeeded byJohn Eklund
Member of the
Ohio House of Representatives
from the 76th district
In office
April 2012 – January 1, 2015
Succeeded bySarah LaTourette
Personal details
Born (1951-06-11) June 11, 1951 (age 73)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Residence(s)Bainbridge Township, Ohio, U.S.
Alma materJohn Carroll University
Cleveland State University (JD)
ProfessionLawyer

Matt Lynch (born June 11, 1951) is an American attorney, politician, and jurist serving as a Judge of the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Eleventh District which includes Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Portage and Trumbull Counties. Lynch previously served three years as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives.

Born in Washington, D.C., Lynch attended John Carroll University and received his Juris Doctor degree from Cleveland State University. He practiced law for 35 years with his father, John Kennedy Lynch, and was elected Trustee of Bainbridge Township in 2007. In 2011 Lynch ran for Chardon Municipal Judge, but lost to Democrat Terri Stupica.[1] He considered running for the Ohio House of Representatives in 2010, but withdrew from the race when his wife Laura was diagnosed with breast cancer.[2]

In November 2012, Lynch was elected as state representative for Geauga and Portage Counties.[3] serving from 2012 through 2014.[4] Lynch attributed his victory to support from the Tea Party movement, and supported cutting taxes and reducing the size of government.

In 2014, Lynch launched a primary election challenge against Congressman Dave Joyce.[5] Joyce won the primary with 55% of the vote, and went on to win the November general election.[6][7] In June 2015, Lynch launched his 2016 campaign for Congress, once again eventually losing the Republican primary to David Joyce.[8]

Lynch ran for Appellate Judge in the Republican primary in 2018, defeating the incumbent. He then won the general election in November, easily winning in all five counties of the 11th District. In 2020 Lynch ran to extend his term as Judge and again won overwhelmingly in all five counties of the Eleventh District Court of Appeals. Lynch will serve as Judge through February 2027.

  1. ^ Read, Tracey (November 8, 2011). "Terri L. Stupica elected Chardon Municipal Court judge (with video)". The News-Herald. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  2. ^ Betz, Lindsay (February 18, 2010). "Bainbridge Trustee Matt Lynch will not seek state office". Sun News. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  3. ^ Byrne, Brian (November 7, 2012). "Matt Lynch wins Ohio House of Representatives District 76 race". Sun News. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  4. ^ Rusek, Joan (April 5, 2012). "Bainbridge lawyer Matt Lynch will fill vacant 98th District Ohio House seat". Sun News. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  5. ^ Eaton, Sabrina (February 5, 2014). "Congressman Dave Joyce faces conservative challenge from State Rep. Matt Lynch". Plain Dealer. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  6. ^ Eaton, Sabrina (May 7, 2014). "Rep. Dave Joyce withstands Tea Party challenge from Matt Lynch". cleveland.com. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  7. ^ "Election 2014: Ohio, national and local results". cleveland.com. Associated Press. November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  8. ^ Zicari, Peter (March 16, 2016). "Statewide results for Ohio primary election March 15, 2016". cleveland.com. Retrieved October 19, 2019.