Melissa Kobasher wins Democratic primary for common pleas judge (UPDATED)

Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from candidate Zachary Simonoff. Democratic voters chose attorney and magistrate Melissa Kobasher as their nominee to replace retiring Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Mark Betleski in Tuesday's primary. Kobasher won handily with 10,133 votes, or 62 percent of the vote, according to complete but unofficial results from the Lorain County Board of Elections. Attorney and magistrate Kim Meyers came in second with 3,182 votes, or nearly 20 percent, with attorney Zachary Simonoff coming in third with 3,000 votes, or slightly more than 18 percent, according to complete but unofficial results from the Lorain County Board of Elections. Kobasher has been a magistrate for Judge Christopher Rothgery since 2017. Prior to that, she was a magistrate in Lorain County Domestic Relations Court, a criminal defense and family law attorney and an assistant prosecutor for the village of Wellington. Kobasher took the lead after the first round of votes were counted and never trailed her opponents. Kobasher said she was "in shock" when the first round of absentee ballot vote totals came in. "I have had the most amazing team," she said. "I want to thank all my supporters, all the voters who believed in me and gave me a vote. I think it truly speaks volumes to where we are now in our party that they're willing to see somebody that's different, a different candidate, a different change." She now faces Avon Lake Municipal Judge Darrel Bilancini, a Republican, in the November election. They will be in the running for a six-year term on the bench in a court that hears felony criminal matters and civil cases. Bilancini was unopposed in the Republican primary on Tuesday. Simonoff, said he called Kobasher to congratulate her "for her big win." "My supporters and I have much to be proud of since we ran a positive honest campaign. We put miles on our shoes, shook thousands of hands and met many good decent people," he said. "For fear of forgetting someone: For all those that volunteered time on the campaign, contributed money, put out a yard sign, came to an event and especially voted for me I offer you my sincere thanks and appreciation." Meyers has been Betleski's magistrate and staff attorney for 11 years and a practicing attorney for 37 years. A message seeking comment on the election's outcome was left for him on Tuesday. A Democrat, Betleski is the longest-serving judge in Common Pleas Court. He will have 24 years on the bench when his term ends in December. In her remarks Tuesday, Kobasher also thanked her opponents for running a clean campaign. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @daveobrienCT. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.