The Washington County Republican Central Committee on Monday appointed Joe Derkin as both prosecutor and the GOP nominee for the same position on the November ballot.

At the same meeting, held at the Washington County Emergency Operations Building, committee members unanimously approved the certification of Washington County Common Pleas Court Judge Nicole Tipton Coil as a candidate for that post this fall, according to Lyndsay Dennis, secretary of the central committee.

The selections were made in response to Coil’s appointment by Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine as common pleas judge following the retirement of former Judge Mark Kerenyi on Feb. 28.

Coil had served as county prosecutor since 2019.

Derkin was the longest-tenured assistant prosecutor when Washington County Commissioners named him interim prosecutor in May. That was for a period of 45 days until the central committee made an appointment.

Both Coil and Derkin are running for the remainder of their predecessors’ unexpired terms, which go through the end of 2028, according to Mandy Amos, director of the Washington County Board of Elections.

The county Democratic party has until Aug. 10 to appoint candidates to run for the positions, Amos said. A representative of the Washington County Democratic Party said they are looking for qualified candidates.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.