Robert Mestman

Office sought: Superior Court of Orange County Office No. 13
Party: Nonpartisan

Background

Biography. Robert Mestman earned a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University in 1991, a graduate degree from the Kellogg School of Management in 2000, and a law degree from the Northwestern University School of Law in 2000. Mestman’s career experience includes working as a prosecutor. [1]

Prior offices and election history

2026

See also: Municipal elections in Orange County, California (2026) General election The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary. The candidate list in this election may not be complete. Nonpartisan primary Nonpartisan primary election for Superior Court of Orange County Ann Cho (Nonpartisan) and Robert Mestman (Nonpartisan) are running in the primary for Superior Court of Orange County on June 2, 2026. Candidate Ann Cho (Nonpartisan) Robert Mestman (Nonpartisan) There are no incumbents in this race. = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2026 — Endorsements

Mestman received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here . A Bluer and Better Orange County (Sway voting group by Ryan Dack) Fullerton Observer’s Voting Group (Sway voting group by Fullerton Observer) New Deal Dems (Sway voting group by Hunter Dunn) The Orange County Register Editorial Board UNITE HERE Local 11’s Voting Group (Sway voting group by UNITE HERE Local 11)

Issue positions (campaign themes)

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses See also: Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection Robert Mestman completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Mestman’s responses. Expand all | Collapse all Who are you? Tell us about yourself. I am an Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney and have been a criminal prosecutor for more than 24 years. I also served as a special federal prosecutor and on the Board of Directors of the California District Attorneys Association. I graduated cum laude from Northwestern University School of Law and also have an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. I have been in public service for most of my career, devoted to public safety and the fair administration of justice. I have a breadth of experience handling the most complex and serious cases, including gang crimes, homicides, sexual assaults, elder abuse and fraud. As a Special Assistant United States Attorney, I targeted public corruption and civil rights violations. And I formed and supervised Orange County’s first Conviction Integrity Unit. I served on the District Attorney’s Executive Management team overseeing six prosecution units, ranging from felony trials to DNA/technology to professional responsibility. As a prosecutor, I have fought hard for the people of Orange County in the pursuit of justice, but also worked to ensure fairness for all and integrity of the judicial process. As a judge, I plan to continue these efforts with the utmost professionalism and while treating all parties with respect. Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office? Fairness, Impartiality & Dignity. A judge must remain fair and impartial at all times and not show bias for or against any party. A judge must be courteous and show all parties to a case, as well as court staff, dignity and respect. Respect for the Rule of Law. A judge must follow the law, regardless of the judge’s personal opinions or views. Competence & Hard Work. A judge must be knowledgeable about the law. A judge must work hard to maintain judicial competence. What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Public Safety. I have been very involved in public safety advocacy in California. I wrote laws to combat organized retail theft and neighborhood burglaries, stop fentanyl drug dealers and hold repeat offenders accountable. I also have helped prevent the early release of violent sex offenders and toughened penalties for major polluters damaging Orange County’s coastline. I have testified multiple times before the California State Assembly and Senate Public Safety Committees, as well as the California Committee to Revise the Penal Code. What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign? I have a broad base of support and have been endorsed by judges, community leaders, police, firefighters, victim advocates, veterans, labor and legal leaders. Please see my website for a full list of endorsements. Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate’s campaign requests it.

Enrichment source: Ballotpedia — https://ballotpedia.org/Robert_Mestman

Sources

• Ballotpedia — Orange County 2026 aggregator
• Upstream: https://ballotpedia.org/Robert_Mestman