Kingsley A. Taft campaign poster   Save
Ohio Governors Collection
Description: Campaign poster for Kingsley A. Taft for Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, ca. 1962. A native of Cleveland, Taft was a prominent Ohio lawyer, politician and judge throughout his life. In 1962, Taft ran against Chief Justice Weygandt, who had been head of the Ohio Supreme Court since 1933. Weygandt was considered one of the most popular Democrats in the state, but was vulnerable because of his age, 74. This was believed to be the first time in the history of the American judiciary that a member of a State Supreme Court had challenged the court's chief justice for the top office. Judge James F. Bell, who retired from the court on October 8, 1962, stated, "[The candidacy of Judge Taft] is a great disservice to the court, and can only bring discredit on it in the eyes of the public." But Taft thought differently. He believed that Weygandt was getting too old for the job, did not administer the court well enough and was responsible in large part for the slow work of the court. Taft had urged a rotation of the chief justiceship and an election of a seventh judge in order to relieve Weygandt of the vast responsibilities. But when Weygandt filed for the office in 1962, Taft knew he had to oppose him. Despite the difficulties of the task, Taft defeated Chief Justice Weygandt 1,332,391 to 1,330,616. As a result of this close election, Taft achieved the highest position in Ohio's judiciary. He won re-election to his post in 1968 defeating his opponent John C. Duffy by over 800,000 votes. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: OVS_5973
Subjects: Ohio Government; Presidents and Politics; Ohio. Supreme Court; Supreme Court justices; Judges--Ohio
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio); Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)