Texas voters see 10 statewide court races, 11 court races elected by district, 323 county-level judicial races in the counties we track on the November 3, 2026 ballot in the races The Ballot Brief tracks. Retention questions are a yes-or-no vote on keeping a sitting judge; elected seats work like any other race.
Statewide court races
These seats are elected by every voter in Texas. Open a race for the full page.
Voted statewide: on every Texas ballot. 2 candidates.
Jimmy Blacklock (R) Incumbent
Jimmy Blacklock is the incumbent Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, appointed to the court in 2018 and named the 28th Chief Justice in January 2025, per the court's official biography. He previously served as General Counsel to Gov. Greg Abbott.
Priorities: Applying the Constitution and law as written rather than 'legislating from the bench', per the campaign site
Maggie Ellis is a justice on the Texas Third Court of Appeals, elected to that court in 2024, per the court's official biography. Before joining the bench she practiced law representing individuals and is Board Certified in Juvenile Law, per the same source.
Priorities: Fair treatment of the public and access to the courts, per the campaign site
Voted statewide: on every Texas ballot. 2 candidates.
Chari Kelly (D)
Chari Kelly is a justice on the Texas Third Court of Appeals, elected in 2019, per the court's official biography. Before the bench she was a felony prosecutor in Travis and Comal counties and an Assistant Attorney General, and she is a former U.S. Army paratrooper and captain.
James P. Sullivan is the incumbent on the Texas Supreme Court, appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in January 2025, per the court's official biography. He previously served as the Governor's General Counsel and as an Assistant Solicitor General, and clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Priorities: Applying the Constitution and law as written, per the campaign site
Voted statewide: on every Texas ballot. 2 candidates.
Kristen Hawkins (D)
Kristen Hawkins is the judge of the 11th District Court in Harris County, elected in 2016 and reelected in 2020, per her campaign site. She holds board certifications in Civil Trial Law and Personal Injury Law.
Priorities: Civility, professionalism and respect in the legal profession, per the campaign site
Kyle D. Hawkins is the incumbent on the Texas Supreme Court, appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in October 2025, per the court's official biography. He previously served as Texas Solicitor General.
Priorities: Humility, diligence and applying the law as written, per the campaign site
Voted statewide: on every Texas ballot. 2 candidates.
Gisela D. Triana (D)
Gisela D. Triana is a justice on the Texas Third Court of Appeals, elected in 2018, per the court's official biography. She previously spent 14 years as judge of the 200th District Court.
Brett Busby is the incumbent on the Texas Supreme Court, appointed in 2019 and elected in 2020, per the court's official biography. He previously served six years as a justice on the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston.
Priorities: Applying laws faithfully without rewriting them from the bench, per the campaign site · Expanding access to justice, including a licensing system for legal paraprofessionals, per the campaign site
Voted statewide: on every Texas ballot. 3 candidates.
Thomas Smith (R)
Thomas Smith has served as Special Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Justice in the Texas Attorney General's office since 2015, per his campaign site. He earlier practiced civil law and clerked for an Ohio Supreme Court chief justice.
Okey Anyiam is a criminal defense lawyer in Dallas who has practiced law since 1997, per the San Antonio Report. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Mark Ash is a candidate for Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3 on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the state's certified candidate list. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Voted statewide: on every Texas ballot. 2 candidates.
Kevin Patrick Yeary (R) Incumbent
Kevin Patrick Yeary is the incumbent Place 4 judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, first elected in 2014, per the court's official biography. He previously worked as a defense attorney and Assistant District Attorney. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Audra Riley is the presiding judge of Criminal District Court 3 in Dallas County, per the San Antonio Report. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Voted statewide: on every Texas ballot. 2 candidates.
John Messinger (R)
John Messinger has served as general counsel in the Office of State Prosecuting Attorney since 2010, per the San Antonio Report. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Holly Taylor is a criminal defense attorney who spent more than 17 years as a prosecutor, per the San Antonio Report.
Priorities: An independent voice ensuring fair and thorough case review, per the campaign site · Upholding the Constitution and treating everyone with dignity, per the campaign site
Voted statewide: on every Texas ballot. 2 candidates.
Scott Brister (R) Incumbent
Scott Brister is the incumbent Chief Justice of the Fifteenth Court of Appeals, appointed effective September 1, 2024, per the court's official biography. He previously served six years on the Texas Supreme Court. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Voted statewide: on every Texas ballot. 2 candidates.
Scott K. Field (R) Incumbent
Scott K. Field is the incumbent Place 2 justice on the Fifteenth Court of Appeals, per the court's official biography. He previously served as the inaugural judge of the 480th District Court in Williamson County. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Tom Baker is a U.S. Navy JAG Corps veteran who previously served as an elected justice on the Third Court of Appeals in Austin from 2019 to 2024, per his campaign site.
Priorities: Judicial impartiality regardless of party affiliation, per the campaign site
Voted statewide: on every Texas ballot. 2 candidates.
April Farris (R) Incumbent
April Farris is the incumbent Place 3 justice on the Fifteenth Court of Appeals, appointed September 1, 2024, per the court's official biography. She previously served on the First Court of Appeals. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Marc M. Meyer is a retired Houston Fire Department captain and paramedic with 20 years of service who now practices law defending health care providers, per his campaign site.
Priorities: Protecting individual rights against state power, per the campaign site
Voted only inside this court district or county. 2 candidates.
Todd Frankfort (R)
Todd Frankfort is a Houston attorney with more than 30 years of experience focused on family law, per his campaign site. He is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Priorities: Applying the law as written rather than changing it from the bench, per the campaign site
Veronica Rivas-Molloy is a candidate for Court of Appeals, 1st District, Place 3 on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the state's certified candidate list. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Voted only inside this court district or county. 2 candidates.
David M. Gunn (R) Incumbent
David M. Gunn joined the First Court of Appeals in October 2024, per the court's official biography, after more than two decades as an appellate partner at a Houston law firm. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Julie Countiss previously served as a justice on the First Court of Appeals, per Houston Chronicle reporting. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Voted only inside this court district or county. 2 candidates.
Amy Guerra (D) Incumbent
Amy Guerra is the incumbent Place 5 justice on the First Court of Appeals, elected in 2020, per the court's official biography. She previously served as an Associate Municipal Judge for the City of Houston. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Jessica Caird is a candidate for Court of Appeals, 1st District, Place 5 on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the state's certified candidate list. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Voted only inside this court district or county. 2 candidates.
Cory Liu (R)
Cory Liu is a judge of the Texas 250th District Court, per the San Antonio Report. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Darlene Byrne is the incumbent Chief Justice of the Third Court of Appeals, elected in 2020, per the court's official biography. She previously presided for 20 years over the 126th Judicial District Court in Travis County. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Voted only inside this court district or county. 2 candidates.
Antonia "Toni" Arteaga (D)
Antonia "Toni" Arteaga has served as judge of the 57th Civil District Court in Bexar County for nearly two decades, per the San Antonio Report. She has twice served as president of the Texas Association of District Court Judges. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Bert Richardson is a judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, elected in 2014 and reelected in 2020, per the court's official biography. He previously served as an Assistant District Attorney in Bexar County and as a state district court judge, per the San Antonio Report. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Voted only inside this court district or county. 2 candidates.
Matthew Kolodoski (R)
Matthew Kolodoski is a candidate for Court of Appeals, 5th District, Place 3 on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the state's certified candidate list. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Amanda Reichek previously served as a justice on the Fifth Court of Appeals from 2019 to 2024, authoring more than 500 appellate opinions, per her campaign site.
Voted only inside this court district or county. 2 candidates.
Benjamin N. Smith (R)
Benjamin N. Smith is a candidate for Court of Appeals, 5th District, Place 6 on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the state's certified candidate list. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Monica Purdy is the presiding judge of the 95th Judicial District Court in Dallas County, per local reporting. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Voted only inside this court district or county. 2 candidates.
Andrea D. Plumlee (D)
Andrea D. Plumlee is a candidate for Court of Appeals, 5th District, Place 8 on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the state's certified candidate list. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Ashley Wysocki is the judge of the 162nd District Court in Dallas County, per Governor's office announcements of her earlier district court appointments. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Voted only inside this court district or county. 2 candidates.
Clarissa Silva (R) Incumbent
Clarissa Silva has served on the Thirteenth Court of Appeals, Place 6, since January 1, 2021, per MyRGV reporting. She previously worked as a prosecutor in the Nueces County District Attorney's Office and the San Patricio County Attorney's Office.
Priorities: Protecting constitutional principles, due process and fair application of the law, per the campaign site
John Ball practices family and criminal law in McAllen and previously worked in the Hidalgo County District Attorney's Office Border Prosecution Unit, per his campaign site. He is double board certified in Criminal Law and Family Law.
Voted only inside this court district or county. 2 candidates.
Sarah Beth Landau (D)
Sarah Beth Landau served as a justice on the First Court of Appeals from 2019 to 2024, per her campaign site. She previously worked as a federal public defender and commercial litigator.
Priorities: Modernizing court operations and expanding legal education access for law students, per the campaign site
Kevin Jewell currently serves as a justice on the Fourteenth Court of Appeals, Place 2, elected in 2016, per the court's official biography. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
Voted only inside this court district or county. 2 candidates.
Ken Wise (R) Incumbent
Ken Wise is the incumbent Place 7 justice on the Fourteenth Court of Appeals, appointed in October 2013, per the court's official biography. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
William Demond is a candidate for Court of Appeals, 14th District, Place 7 on the November 3, 2026 ballot, per the state's certified candidate list. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 15, 2026.
