STATE COURTS
GOP set to keep seven benches in Texas.
Republicans looking to preserve their longtime dominance of the state’s two most powerful courts didnot appear to be in jeopardy as vote totals trickled in Tuesday night.
With 85 percent of counties reporting results, Republicans were expected to maintain their solid grip on the seven statewide judicial seats on the ballot this election. Texas voters were tasked with choosing four justices on the nine-member Texas Supreme Court, the state’s highest civil court, and three judges on theTexas Court of Criminal Appeals, its sister court of last resort for criminal cases. All seven Republican candidates are incumbents.
Another term likely for longest-serving justice
Late Tuesday results showed a comfortable lead for currentTexas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, the longest-serving member of the high court in Texas history. He has served on the court since 1988. This will be Hecht’s final term, as Texas’ mandatory retirement age requires him to step down in four years.
His challenger, Democratic Judge Amy Clark Meachum, is seeking to be the first woman to hold the chief justice seat.
As of 10:30 p.m., Justice Brett Busby led in his race against Texas 3rd Court of Appeals Judge Gisela Triana, a Democrat. Busby is a Gov. Greg Abbott appointee who has served since 2019.
Houston attorney Kathy Cheng is projected to lose to Justice Jane Bland, another Republican Abbott appointee who previously served on the Supreme Court.
Justice Jeff Boyd, the Republican candidate, maintained a steady lead against Democrat and Dallas District Court Judge Staci Williams. If elected, Williams would have been the first Black woman to serve on the high court.
Texas Republicans have not lost a statewide election since1994 and have held all nine seats in the Texas Supreme Court since 1999.
Many of the Democratic candidates are running on the theme of bringing ideological and personal diversity to the table — out of the seven challengers on both courts, six are women and two are Black.
The governor appeared tomake inroads on that issue with his recent appointment of Justice RebecaHuddle, a Latina fromHouston, as a replacement for Justice Paul Green. She is the second Latina appointed to the court.
Criminal appellate judges hold leads
Republicans also are holding theCourt of CriminalAppeals, early results show.
Democrat Elizabeth Davis Frizell, a former District Court judge, was losing to incumbent Justice Bert Richardson, who has served on the court since 2014. Frizell is seeking to be the first Black woman to win a seat on the Court of Criminal Appeals.
Justice Kevin Yeary, the Republican candidate, also had an early lead over Dallas County Criminal District Court Judge Tina Clinton, the Democratic candidate. This could be Yeary’s second term.
Incumbent Justice David Newell, a Republican, carried the race early over Democrat Brandon Birmingham, a Dallas County criminal district court judge.
These judicial races have remained relatively quiet, even as the Supreme Court made headlines in recent months with a number of high-profile election-related rulings. The latest was a Republican-led effort to throw out nearly 127,000 drive-thru votes in Harris County, which justices rejected Sunday. They overturned a similar challenge to drive-thru voting from Republicans last month.
Yet the high court has also been accused of hampering a largely Democratic push to expand voting access, including a campaign to send mail ballot applications to all registered voters in Harris County.