Texas voters will decide several high profile statewide judicial contests in 2026, including seats on the Texas Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeals and the newly created 15th Court of Appeals.
These courts shape state law on issues including business disputes, elections, criminal convictions and constitutional questions. Most incumbents on the Texas Supreme Court were appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott and are now seeking full terms or reelection.
All members of these courts are elected statewide in partisan races, and Democrats are seeking to regain ground in courts that have steadily shifted right over time.
Texas Supreme Court
The Texas Supreme Court is the state's highest civil court, handling cases involving business disputes, constitutional challenges to state laws and appeals from lower civil courts.
In recent years, the court has heard arguments and made important rulings on hot-button issues, such as abortion access, gay marriage and gender-affirming care.
Chief Justice
Jimmy Blacklock (R, incumbent)
Appointed to the court in 2018 and named chief justice in 2025, Blacklock previously served as Gov. Greg Abbott's general counsel and as an attorney in the Texas Attorney General's Office. He has argued cases involving religious liberty, federalism and election law, and has authored more than 100 opinions on the court. Blacklock describes his judicial philosophy as grounded in interpreting statutes and the state constitution according to their text and original meaning.
Cory Carlyle (D)
Carlyle is a former justice on the 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas, where he served from 2019 to 2024 and authored hundreds of opinions. He began his career as a prosecutor in Dallas County and later represented indigent defendants in both Texas and Washington, DC. He is board certified in civil appellate law and now practices appellate litigation in Dallas.
Maggie Ellis (D)
Ellis serves on the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin and is board certified in juvenile law. With over more than 15 years in legal practice, she has worked as a prosecutor, administrative law judge and trial attorney handling civil, juvenile and family cases. She became the first openly LGBTQ woman elected to a Texas appellate court.
Justice, Place 2
James Sullivan (R, incumbent)
Appointed to the Texas Supreme Court in 2025, Sullivan previously served as Governor Abbott's general counsel. Earlier in his career, he clerked in the US. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and worked in the Texas Attorney General's Office and private practice. He has also taught as an adjunct professor.
Chari Kelly (D)
Kelly serves on the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin, where she has been on the bench since 2019. A U.S. Army veteran and former JAG officer, she has ruled on cases involving public health, environmental issues and criminal justice. Before joining the court, she worked on litigation for the state and taught trial advocacy at the University of Texas School of Law.
Justice, Place 7
Kyle Hawkins (R, incumbent)
Appointed to the court in 2025, Hawkins previously served as Texas solicitor general and as counselor to the U.S. solicitor general. He has argued multiple cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and previously clerked for Justice Samuel Alito. Hawkins also worked in private appellate practice and taught at the University of Texas School of Law.
Gordon Goodman (D)
Goodman served on the 1st Court of Appeals in Houston from 2019 to 2024. Before taking the bench, he held senior legal roles in the energy industry and practiced civil and appellate law. He has written on judicial ethics and served on professional advisory committees related to accounting and energy regulation.
Kristen Hawkins (D)
Hawkins is a Harris County district court judge first elected in 2016. She has experience in civil litigation, including medical malpractice, construction and mass tort cases, and is double board certified in civil trial and personal injury law. She has chaired judicial committees in Harris County and received recognition for her work on complex litigation matters.
Justice, Place 8
Brett Busby (R, incumbent)
Appointed in 2019 and elected statewide in 2020, Busby previously served on the Texas Court of Appeals for six years. A former U.S. Supreme Court law clerk, he has argued cases before appellate courts across the country and has taught at the University of Texas School of Law.
Gisela Triana (D)
Triana serves on the 3rd Court of Appeals and previously spent more than two decades as a trial court judge in Travis County, presiding over both civil and criminal matters. She began her legal career as a prosecutor and has also worked in election law and private practice.
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
The Court of Criminal Appeals is Texas' highest court for criminal cases, including death penalty appeals. The court has weighed in on the ongoing appeal of Robert Roberson, who was convicted of murder after prosecutors successfully argued for his conviction in part with controversial "shaken baby syndrome" evidence. The court also made an important ruling that found the Texas attorney general can not unilaterally prosecute voter fraud claims — a ruling that led Ken Paxton to back three judges who ousted incumbents in 2024.
Judge, Place 3
Brent Coffee (R)
Coffee is a former Bexar County assistant district attorney who later worked in the Texas Attorney General's Office, including in the Election Integrity Division prosecuting election related offenses. He has handled felony prosecutions and worked in private practice.
Fitzpatrick serves as director of special litigation for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Office of General Counsel. She previously worked as a criminal prosecutor and staff attorney for the Texas Senate and in private criminal defense practice.
Alison Fox (R)
Fox is a longtime Texas attorney who describes her campaign as focused on constitutional interpretation and conservative legal principles. She has practiced law in Texas courts and emphasizes criminal justice and constitutional issues.
Thomas Smith (R)
Smith works in the Texas Attorney General's Office and previously served as counsel to then Senator Ken Paxton. He began his career in private practice and clerked for a state supreme court justice in Ohio. His experience includes criminal justice and government litigation.
Okey Anylam (D)
Anylam is a Dallas based criminal defense attorney who has been licensed in Texas since the late 1990s. He is the lone Democrat in the race and will face the Republican nominee in November.
Judge, Place 4
Kevin Patrick Yeary (R, incumbent)
Elected to the Court of Criminal Appeals in 2014, Yeary previously worked as an appellate prosecutor in several large Texas counties and served as a briefing attorney at the court early in his career. He has argued cases before the Texas Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Audra Riley (D)
Riley serves as judge of Dallas County Criminal District Court No. 3, a position she has held since January 2021. Her current term on that court runs through 2028. She earned her law degree from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law and has experience presiding over felony criminal cases in one of the state's largest counties. Riley is the lone Democrat challenging Yeary for Place 4 and will appear on the Democratic primary ballot in March 2026.
Judge, Place 9
Jennifer Balido (R)
Balido presides over Criminal District Court No. 1 in Dallas County after being appointed by Abbott last year. She previously served as chief of the Dallas County District Attorney's Office's appellate division and has worked as a prosecutor, public defender and private attorney, trying more than 200 cases. She has also authored appellate briefs and taught law enforcement officers on criminal statutes.
John Messinger (R)
Messinger works in the Office of the State Prosecuting Attorney and has filed more than 100 petitions for discretionary review with the Court of Criminal Appeals. He frequently speaks at statewide criminal law conferences and chairs a State Bar criminal jury charges committee.
Holly Taylor (D)
Taylor is a criminal appellate attorney and former prosecutor who most recently served in a leadership role in the Travis County District Attorney's Office, overseeing public integrity and complex crimes divisions. She is board certified in criminal appellate law and previously worked as a staff attorney at the Court of Criminal Appeals.
15th Court of Appeals
Created controversially by the Legislature in 2023, the 15th Court of Appeals has statewide jurisdiction over certain cases involving the state and business disputes. It's the first year anyone on the Abbott-appointed court is up for election. The statewide jurisdiction of this intermediary court means it's touched on a number of notable cases in its short existence, including Paxton's rule requiring large-county district attorneys to send detailed reports to his office, as well as the attorney general's failed attempt to overturn the State Fair of Texas' gun ban.
Chief Justice
Scott Brister (R, incumbent)
Appointed as the inaugural chief justice in 2024, Brister previously served on the Texas Supreme Court and on Houston-area appellate courts. He has presided over hundreds of trials and authored hundreds of appellate opinions. In private practice, he led appellate litigation at a large firm.
Jerry Zimmerer (D)
Zimmerer previously served on the 14th Court of Appeals in Houston before losing reelection in 2024. He has worked in private practice and in corporate legal roles, including with AT&T Mobility.
Justice, Place 2
Scott Field (R, incumbent)
Appointed to the 15th Court of Appeals in 2024, Field previously served on the 3rd Court of Appeals and as a district court judge in Williamson County. He has practiced commercial and appellate litigation and clerked at the Texas Supreme Court.
Tom Baker (D)
Baker is a former justice on the 5th Court of Appeals who lost reelection in 2024. A U.S. Navy veteran, he now works in private practice in Central Texas.
Justice, Place 3
April Farris (R, incumbent)
Farris was appointed to the 15th Court of Appeals in 2024 after serving on the 1st Court of Appeals. She previously worked as an assistant solicitor general for Texas and as a partner in private practice handling complex appellate litigation. She has received national recognition for her appellate work.
Marc M. Meyer (D)
Meyer is an attorney, registered nurse and retired Houston firefighter. He lives in Montgomery and has experience in both public service and private legal practice. He is unopposed in the Democratic primary and will face Farris in the general election.
North Texas appellate races
In addition to the statewide courts, voters in North Texas will weigh in on contested seats on the 2nd and 5th Courts of Appeals, which hear civil and criminal appeals from trial courts in their respective regions.
Second Court of Appeals (Fort Worth)
Justice, Place 2
Chris Taylor (R)
Taylor is the presiding judge of the 48th District Court in Tarrant County, appointed in 2021 and subsequently elected. Before taking the bench, he worked in civil litigation and later served in the civil division of the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office, advising county officials and handling litigation matters.
No Democrat has filed for this seat.
Justice, Place 7
Brian Walker (R)
Walker has a background in law, academia and political work. He has served as an adjunct professor teaching government courses and has previously worked in state government roles, including as a legislative staffer. He also managed a statewide judicial campaign. Walker holds law and graduate degrees from Texas and Oklahoma institutions.
No Democrat has filed for this seat.
Fifth Court of Appeals (Dallas)
Justice, Place 3
Kolodoski is a Dallas-based litigation partner at a national firm with experience in civil trial and appellate matters in state and federal courts. He is board certified in both consumer and commercial law and insurance law. He has served in leadership roles within the State Bar of Texas and frequently writes and speaks on litigation and constitutional law topics. He also ran unsuccessfully for a place on the court in 2024.
Amanda Reichek (D)
Reichek previously served on the 5th Court of Appeals from 2019 to 2024. During her tenure, she authored more than 500 appellate opinions. Board certified in labor and employment law, she has practiced in both private firms and her own practice and is active in the Dallas Bar Association's appellate section.
Justice, Place 6
Ben Smith (R)
Smith has presided over the 380th Judicial District Court in Collin County since 2012. Before becoming a judge, he worked as an assistant district attorney in Kaufman and Collin counties, handling a range of felony and misdemeanor prosecutions. His district court docket includes criminal, family and civil cases.
Monica Purdy (D)
Purdy has served as an associate judge in Dallas County's civil district courts and previously as a municipal court judge. Before joining the bench, she practiced civil litigation and bankruptcy law and later opened her own firm. She has taught as an adjunct professor and has been active in bar leadership roles.
Justice, Place 8
Ashley Wysocki (R)
Wysocki was appointed in 2024 to serve as judge of the 301st Judicial District Court in Dallas County. She previously served as judge of the 162nd, 254th and 44th district courts and has worked as an attorney and mediator. She is a member of several legal professional organizations, including the Federalist Society. She has also been a frequent appointee of Gov. Abbott.
Palmer serves as chief of the appellate section in the Dallas City Attorney's Office, where he leads litigation involving the city in state and federal courts. He has more than 15 years of appellate experience representing municipal government interests.
Plumlee is a family law judge and former special master and associate judge in Dallas County. She has mediated more than 1,000 cases and has worked as a court-appointed special advocate and child welfare legal mentor. She earned her law degree from SMU and has frequently lectured on family and child welfare law issues.
The March 3 primary elections will determine party nominees in contested races, with general election matchups set for November 2026.
Emmanuel Rivas Valenzuela is KERA's breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Emmanuel at erivas@kera.org.
Toluwani Osibamowo is KERA’s law and justice reporter. Got a tip? Email Toluwani at tosibamowo@kera.org.
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