Danilo Lacayo

Danilo Lacayo

Democratic Party

Candidate, Texas 182nd District Court

Texas 182nd District Court

Tenure

2019 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

7

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Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 3, 2026

Danilo Lacayo (Democratic Party) is a judge of the Texas 182nd District Court. He assumed office on January 1, 2019. His current term ends on December 31, 2026.

Lacayo (Democratic Party) is running for re-election for judge of the Texas 182nd District Court. He is on the ballot in the Democratic primary on March 3, 2026.^[source]

Elections

2026

See also: Municipal elections in Harris County, Texas (2026)

General election

The primary occurred on March 3, 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.

Democratic primary

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Democratic primary for Texas 182nd District Court

Incumbent Danilo Lacayo (D) ran in the Democratic primary for Texas 182nd District Court on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Danilo Lacayo

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The outcome of this election has not been called yet.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Republican primary for Texas 182nd District Court

Brent Haynes (R) ran in the Republican primary for Texas 182nd District Court on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Brent Haynes

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The outcome of this election has not been called yet.
= 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.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2022

See also: Municipal elections in Harris County, Texas (2022)

General election

General election for Texas 182nd District Court

Incumbent Danilo Lacayo defeated Robert Jackson in the general election for Texas 182nd District Court on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Danilo Lacayo (D)	51.3	547,827
		Robert Jackson (R)	48.7	520,611

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,068,438
= 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.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas 182nd District Court

Incumbent Danilo Lacayo advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas 182nd District Court on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Danilo Lacayo	100.0	140,191

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 140,191
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas 182nd District Court

Robert Jackson advanced from the Republican primary for Texas 182nd District Court on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robert Jackson	100.0	142,170

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 142,170
= 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.

2018

General election

General election for Texas 182nd District Court

Danilo Lacayo defeated Jesse McClure in the general election for Texas 182nd District Court on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Danilo Lacayo (D)	56.1	663,843
		Jesse McClure (R)	43.9	519,575

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,183,418
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas 182nd District Court

Danilo Lacayo advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas 182nd District Court on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Danilo Lacayo	100.0	133,026

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 133,026
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas 182nd District Court

Jesse McClure advanced from the Republican primary for Texas 182nd District Court on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jesse McClure	100.0	116,007

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 116,007
= 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.

Selection method

See also: Partisan election of judges

The judges of the Texas District Courts are chosen in partisan elections. They serve four-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to continue serving.

Though Texas is home to more than 400 district courts, the courts are grouped into nine administrative judicial regions. Each region is overseen by a presiding judge who is appointed by the governor to a four-year term. According to the state courts website, the presiding judge may be a "regular elected or retired district judge, a former judge with at least 12 years of service as a district judge, or a retired appellate judge with judicial experience on a district court."

Qualifications
To serve on the district courts, a judge must be:

• a U.S. citizen;
• a resident of Texas;
• licensed to practice law in the state;
• between the ages of 25 and 75;*
• a practicing lawyer and/or state judge for at least four years; and
• a resident of his or her respective judicial district for at least two years.

*While no judge older than 74 may run for office, sitting judges who turn 75 are permitted to continue serving until their term expires.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Danilo Lacayo has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Danilo Lacayo, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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2022

Danilo Lacayo completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Lacayo's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am currently the judge in the 182nd Judicial District Court where I preside over all different types of felony cases. I was an Assistant District Attorney for approximately seven years and and Assistant Public Defender for approximately five years.

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?

• I am experienced in criminal law
• I have worked on both sides of the courtroom
• I am fair

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am one of four judges that preside over STAR court which is a drug rehabilitation program. This is in addition to my regular duties.

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.

See also

2026 Elections

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Government

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External links

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Footnotes

Texas courts

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Federal courts:

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas

State courts:

Texas Supreme Court • Texas Court of Appeals • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals • Texas District Courts • Texas County Courts • Texas County Courts at Law • Texas Statutory Probate Courts • Texas Justice of the Peace Courts

State resources:

Courts in Texas • Texas judicial elections • Judicial selection in Texas