Matt Lynch

{{short description|American politician}}

{{for|the Scottish footballer|Matt Lynch (footballer)}}{{for|the basketball coach|Matt Lynch (basketball)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2015}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Matt Lynch

| image name =

| office = Judge of the Ohio Court of Appeals
for the 11th district

| predecessor = Timothy Cannon

| term_start = February 8, 2021

| term_start1 = February 9, 2019

| term_end1 = February 8, 2021

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1951|6|11}}

| birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S.

| party = Republican

| residence = Bainbridge Township, Ohio, U.S.

| spouse =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| alma_mater = John Carroll University
Cleveland State University (JD)

| profession = Lawyer

| office1 = Judge of the Ohio Court of Appeals
for the 11th district

| office2 = Member of the
Ohio House of Representatives
from the 76th district

| termstart2 = April 2012

| termend2 = January 1, 2015

| successor2 = Sarah LaTourette

|predecessor1 = Colleen Mary O'Toole

|successor1 = John Eklund

}}

Matt Lynch (born June 11, 1951) is an American attorney, politician, and jurist serving as a Judge of the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Eleventh District which includes Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Portage and Trumbull Counties. Lynch previously served three years as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives.

Born in Washington, D.C., Lynch attended John Carroll University and received his Juris Doctor degree from Cleveland State University. He practiced law for 35 years with his father, John Kennedy Lynch, and was elected Trustee of Bainbridge Township in 2007. In 2011 Lynch ran for Chardon Municipal Judge, but lost to Democrat Terri Stupica.{{Cite web|last=Read|first=Tracey|date=2011-11-08|title=Terri L. Stupica elected Chardon Municipal Court judge (with video)|url=https://www.news-herald.com/news/terri-l-stupica-elected-chardon-municipal-court-judge-with-video/article_a4db6ac4-8f84-54bd-9b37-fa909458d6f2.html|access-date=2020-02-03|website=The News-Herald|language=en}} He considered running for the Ohio House of Representatives in 2010, but withdrew from the race when his wife Laura was diagnosed with breast cancer.{{cite news|url=http://www.cleveland.com/chagrinsolonsun/index.ssf/2010/02/bainbridge_trustee_matt_lynch_1.html|title=Bainbridge Trustee Matt Lynch will not seek state office|last=Betz|first=Lindsay|date=February 18, 2010|work=Sun News|access-date=November 26, 2012}}

In November 2012, Lynch was elected as state representative for Geauga and Portage Counties.{{cite news|url=http://www.cleveland.com/west-geauga/index.ssf/2012/11/matt_lynch_wins_ohio_house_of.html|title=Matt Lynch wins Ohio House of Representatives District 76 race|last=Byrne|first=Brian|date=November 7, 2012|work=Sun News|access-date=November 26, 2012}} serving from 2012 through 2014.{{cite news|url=http://www.cleveland.com/west-geauga/index.ssf/2012/04/post_16.html|title=Bainbridge lawyer Matt Lynch will fill vacant 98th District Ohio House seat |last=Rusek|first=Joan|date=April 5, 2012|work=Sun News|access-date=November 26, 2012}} Lynch attributed his victory to support from the Tea Party movement, and supported cutting taxes and reducing the size of government.

In 2014, Lynch launched a primary election challenge against Congressman Dave Joyce.{{cite news|last=Eaton|first=Sabrina|date=February 5, 2014|title=Congressman Dave Joyce faces conservative challenge from State Rep. Matt Lynch|work=Plain Dealer|url=http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2014/02/rep_dave_joyce_faces_challenge.html|access-date=March 26, 2014}} Joyce won the primary with 55% of the vote, and went on to win the November general election.{{cite news|last=Eaton|first=Sabrina|date=2014-05-07|title=Rep. Dave Joyce withstands Tea Party challenge from Matt Lynch|publisher=cleveland.com |url=http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2014/05/rep_dave_joyce_withstandssuccu.html|access-date=November 6, 2014}}{{cite news|date=2014-11-04|title=Election 2014: Ohio, national and local results|work=cleveland.com|agency=Associated Press|url=http://www.cleveland.com/election-results/index.ssf/2014/11/election_2014_results_for_ohio.html|access-date=November 6, 2014}} In June 2015, Lynch launched his 2016 campaign for Congress, once again eventually losing the Republican primary to David Joyce.{{Cite web|last=Zicari|first=Peter|date=2016-03-16|title=Statewide results for Ohio primary election March 15, 2016|url=https://www.cleveland.com/election-results/2016/03/statewide_results_for_ohio_pri.html|access-date=2019-10-19|website=cleveland.com|language=en}}

Lynch ran for Appellate Judge in the Republican primary in 2018, defeating the incumbent. He then won the general election in November, easily winning in all five counties of the 11th District. In 2020 Lynch ran to extend his term as Judge and again won overwhelmingly in all five counties of the Eleventh District Court of Appeals. Lynch will serve as Judge through February 2027.