Circleville, Ohio – Pickaway County Prosecutor Jayme Hartley Fountain won the Republican nomination for Ohio’s Fourth District Court of Appeals.
Republican county chairs and secretaries representing the district’s 14 counties chose Fountain on Saturday, October 3, after five rounds of voting. She now has just 27 days to campaign before the November 3 general election.
Fountain will replace the late Judge Peter B. Abele on the ballot. Abele died September 25 at age 69. He had served on the Fourth District Court of Appeals since 1991, a tenure of 35 years, and was running unopposed for another term.
“Judge Abele devoted 35 years to serving the people of this district. We are grateful for his service, and our thoughts are with his family,” said Travis Ricketts, chairman of the Pickaway County Republican Party.
Abele’s death triggered a little-known provision of Ohio election law. Ohio Revised Code Section 3513.31 authorizes a district committee made up of the party’s county central committee chairs and secretaries from each county in the district to select a replacement nominee when a candidate dies before the general election.
The same statute also allows Democrats to nominate a candidate for the seat. Although the district is solidly Republican, that provision opens the door to a contested race.
Fountain served as an assistant prosecutor in Pickaway County for 18 years before being elected county prosecutor in 2024. A Logan Elm High School graduate, she earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky and her law degree from Capital University in 2006.
“Jayme is a fighter. She came out on top after five rounds of voting, and she knows how to make her case,” said Ronde Cook Brushart, secretary of the Pickaway County Republican Party, who participated in Saturday’s selection meeting. “She has less than a month to reach voters across 14 counties. We’re ready to get to work.”
The Fourth District Court of Appeals serves Adams, Athens, Gallia, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Vinton and Washington counties.
