Kari Bloom seeks re-election to Hamilton County juvenile bench

Kari L. Bloom is running to keep her seat on the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division, in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. Bloom faces Susan Luken in the nonpartisan race.

Bloom has served as a judge on the juvenile bench since 2021, according to BallotReady, and as administrative judge since 2023, according to the Hamilton County Juvenile Court website.

Candidate information

Office sought: Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge, Juvenile Division (Term Commencing 2/14)
Party: Nonpartisan
Education: Bachelor's degree in political science, Bowling Green State University (2008); juris doctor, University of Cincinnati (2011)

Experience and public service

Bloom's career centers on juvenile justice. She worked as a juvenile justice fellow at Children's Law Center, Inc. from 2010 to 2011, according to her campaign website. She then served as a juvenile delinquency trial attorney at the Hamilton County Public Defender's Office from 2012 to 2014 and as a contract negotiator at Wright Patterson Air Force Base from 2011 to 2012, according to BallotReady.

Bloom worked as a parole attorney at the Ohio Public Defender's Office from 2014 to 2017, according to the National Association of Counties. She also served as a legislative liaison there during the same period, according to BallotReady. In those roles, she testified before the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate on juvenile justice issues and represented citizens before the Ohio Parole Board, many of whom had been transferred to adult court as teenagers, according to the National Association of Counties.

During her time with the Ohio Public Defender's Office, Bloom served on the Ohio Supreme Court Sentencing Commission, the Ohio Recodification Committee, the Ohio Supreme Court Bail Committee and the Ohio Supreme Court Juvenile Justice Committee, according to the Hamilton County Juvenile Court.

She returned to the Hamilton County Public Defender's Office as a trial attorney from 2017 until taking the bench.

On the issues

Bloom outlined several priorities on her campaign website:

Family reunification: Bloom said she wants to keep families together and increase reunification efforts for parents and children.
Court transparency: She said she plans to record data on each case, including race, sex, charge and sentence, and share that information with the community.
Service provider audit: Bloom said she would reduce overlap and gaps in children's service providers used by the Juvenile Court by conducting an audit.
Diversion programs: She said she wants to create a fair, diverse diversion program so children from all backgrounds can participate in rehabilitative programming.
Prevention training: Bloom said she supports developing training similar to the Models for Change Initiative to help professionals address obstacles children face, with the goal of keeping kids out of the criminal justice system.