MANSFIELD — Republican Denise Ruhl will retain her appointed seat as the Richland County Clerk of Courts, according to unofficial results from the Richland County Board of Elections.
Ruhl, 53, defeated Democrat Chris Adams, 63. Both were officially seeking elected office for the first time.
According to unofficial results from the Richland County Board of Elections, Ruhl won with 71.82% of the vote, or 38,768 total votes. Adams earned 28.18% of the vote, or 15,213 total votes.
Ruhl was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
She was appointed to the Clerk of Courts seat in July 2023 by the county Republican party to complete the term of Lin Frary, who left the office due to illness.
Frary was the face of the Richland County Clerk of Courts for nearly two decades, winning five different four-year terms in office. She was diagnosed with ALS last June, and passed away on Jan. 25.
Ruhl joined the clerk’s office in 1993 before moving to work for Commons Pleas judges James Henson and James DeWeese from 1996 to 2005.
Frary appointed Ruhl as chief deputy clerk of courts in 2005, a position she held until replacing her former boss.
“My strong work ethic and dedication to this job is something I can promise to continue to provide in both the legal and auto title offices,” she previously told Richland Source.
The decision to hire Ruhl was one of Frary’s first appointments. Fray was initially elected in 2004. The two had worked together since 1996 in the courts.
Ruhl graduated from Clear Fork High School in 1989 and from Bradford Business College in Columbus.