Ohio › Wood County › Judge of the Wood County Court of Common Pleas, General Division
2 candidates are tracked for Judge of the Wood County Court of Common Pleas, General Division on the November 3, 2026 ballot: Paul A. Dobson and Joel M. Kuhlman. Candidate information follows official Wood County election filings; verify with the official election office linked below.
Term commencing 01/01/2027; judges print without party labels in November. Dobson ran in the May 5, 2026 Republican primary; Kuhlman is the sitting judge and was unopposed in his primary, per the certified candidate list.
Dobson is the Wood County Prosecuting Attorney, an elected position he has held for 17 years, and has 31 years of experience as a trial attorney, per his campaign site.
2026 priorities (per the campaign site)
- Serving with fairness, professionalism, and integrity, with a focus on justice for victims and public safety
- Continuing court programs such as the Courthouse Facility Dog and felony diversion initiatives
Source: candidate campaign site, roster verified 2026-09-09.
Campaign site →
Kuhlman has served as a Wood County Common Pleas judge since 2021 and is the Administrative Judge overseeing all three general division common pleas courts, per BG Independent News. Before taking the bench, he spent more than a decade in private practice representing businesses and municipalities and served as law director for multiple local governments. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 9, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Joel M. Kuhlman.
2026 priorities (per the BG Independent News)
- Says the court has reduced its backlog of ongoing criminal cases by over 50% and increased successful appeals by more than 75% during his term
- Wants to expand GPS monitoring programs, increase funding for treatment initiatives, and add transportation services for defendants
