Derek Obialo

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Derek Obialo

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 3, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

Imo State University, 1990

Law

University of Miami, 2007

Graduate

Houston Baptist University, 2003

Personal

Profession

Judge

Contact

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Derek Obialo (Democratic Party) ran for election for the Place 7 judge of the Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals. He lost in the Democratic primary on March 3, 2026.

Obialo completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Derek Obialo was born in Mbano, Nigeria. He earned a bachelor's degree from Imo State University in 1990, a graduate degree from Houston Baptist University in 2003, and a law degree from the University of Miami in 2007. His career experience includes working as an attorney and judge.

Elections

2026

See also: Texas intermediate appellate court elections, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on May 26, 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.

General election for Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals Place 7

Incumbent Ken Wise (R) is running in the general election for Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals Place 7 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Ken Wise (R)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary runoff

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Democratic primary runoff for Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals Place 7

Michael Adams-Hurta (D) and William Demond (D) are running in the Democratic primary runoff for Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals Place 7 on May 26, 2026.

		Candidate
		Michael Adams-Hurta
		William Demond

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= 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

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Democratic primary for Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals Place 7

William Demond (D) and Michael Adams-Hurta (D) advanced to a runoff. They defeated Derek Obialo (D) in the Democratic primary for Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals Place 7 on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		William Demond	42.5	184,593
✔		Michael Adams-Hurta	35.8	155,335
		Derek Obialo	21.7	94,145

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	There were no incumbents in this race. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 434,073
= 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

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Republican primary for Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals Place 7

Incumbent Ken Wise (R) advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals Place 7 on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Ken Wise	100.0	272,009

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 272,009
= 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.

Endorsements

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

2024

See also: Texas intermediate appellate court elections, 2024

General election

General election for Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals Place 4

Tonya Rolland McLaughlin defeated incumbent Charles Spain in the general election for Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals Place 4 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tonya Rolland McLaughlin (R)	53.4	1,188,161
		Charles Spain (D)	46.6	1,035,330

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,223,491
= 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 Fourteenth District Court of Appeals Place 4

Incumbent Charles Spain defeated Derek Obialo in the Democratic primary for Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals Place 4 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Charles Spain	55.1	110,469
		Derek Obialo	44.9	90,153

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 200,622
= 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 Fourteenth District Court of Appeals Place 4

Tonya Rolland McLaughlin defeated Steve Rogers in the Republican primary for Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals Place 4 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tonya Rolland McLaughlin	51.9	149,814
		Steve Rogers	48.1	138,819

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 288,633
= 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.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Obialo in this election.

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Fort Bend County, Texas (2020)

General election

General election for Texas 400th District Court

Tameika Carter defeated incumbent Maggie Perez-Jaramillo in the general election for Texas 400th District Court on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tameika Carter (D)	51.5	173,558
		Maggie Perez-Jaramillo (R)	48.5	163,468

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 337,026
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas 400th District Court

Tameika Carter defeated Derek Obialo in the Democratic primary for Texas 400th District Court on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tameika Carter	73.5	41,803
		Derek Obialo	26.5	15,060

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 56,863
= 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 400th District Court

Incumbent Maggie Perez-Jaramillo advanced from the Republican primary for Texas 400th District Court on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Maggie Perez-Jaramillo	100.0	46,385

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 46,385
= 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.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Derek Obialo completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Obialo's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Judge Derek Obialo is the Associate Judge of the 240th District Court, Fort Bend County, Texas

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?

• Integrity matters
• Upholds the rule of law
• Compassion

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Safe neighborhoods

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.

2024

Derek Obialo completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Obialo's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a trial and appellate attorney. I started my legal career as a lawyer in a small town in Nigeria. Later relocating to Houston where I worked for several companies including a stint as a contract worker at a now defunct major energy company.

While working as a consultant in a construction litigation and risk management consulting firm, I decided to return to law school in order to pursue my life’s passion – the practice of law. I have assisted various construction industry clients in my practice – from general contractors to subcontractors and owners – earning a well-deserved reputation of excellence amongst peers and clients. I hold a Juris Doctor from the University of Miami, MBA from the Houston Baptist University (Houston Christian University), Barrister-at-Law from the Nigeria Law School, and Bachelor of Laws from the Abia State University. I am a member of the College of the State Bar and State Bar Construction Law and Litigation sections, among many other professional associations. In 2020, I ran for the office of the Judge of the 400th District Court in Fort Bend County in the Democratic Party primary and I have been engaged in the community ever since.

I am married to Dorothy Obialo, and we live in Fort Bend County with our four children.

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?

• Integrity - I uphold the utmost integrity in all situations
• Empathy - Having empathy is the most quality desired in a public office holder
• Fairness - It is essential that justice be fair to people in all situations.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Justice - I desire fair and equal justice for all people regardless of their circumstances and communities they belong.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My father.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity
Empathy

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Empathy, integrity, fairness

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Integrity, empathy and fairness

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Barrister at a small law firm

Do you believe that empathy is an important quality for a judge?

Yes

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Fort Bend United

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.

2020

Derek Obialo did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Derek Obialo campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024	Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals Place 4	Lost primary	$21,480	$21,511
Grand total			$21,480	$21,511
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Election Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

See also

2026 Elections

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Candidate

Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals Place 7

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