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Dori Contreras
Dori Contreras (Democratic Party) was the Chief Justice of the Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals. She assumed office on January 1, 2019. She left office on December 31, 2024.
Contreras (Democratic Party) ran for election as Chief Justice of the Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals. She won in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Biography
Dori Contreras was born in San Juan, Texas. She graduated from Pharr-San Juan-Alamo High School in 1976. Contreras received her B.B.A. in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin in 1980 and her J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1990.[1]
Contreras began her legal career as an associate for Thomas N. Thurlow and Associates. She joined the Law Offices of Frank Herrera in 1991. She managed the Herrera firm's McAllen branch office from 1992 until 1997, when she left to become a partner in a civil trial firm. Also in 1997, she began running a mediation practice in addition to her law practice. She worked in this capacity until her election to the Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals, Place 6, in 2002. She was the Place 6 judge until 2019, when she became chief justice of the court.[1][2][3]
Elections
2024
Dori Contreras did not file to run for re-election.
2018
General election
General election for Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice
Dori Contreras defeated Ernie Aliseda in the general election for Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Dori Contreras (D) | 53.6 | 241,673 |
 | Ernie Aliseda (R) | 46.4 | 209,556 | |
| Total votes: 451,229 | |||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice
Dori Contreras defeated Ray Thomas in the Democratic primary for Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Dori Contreras | 63.8 | 51,368 |
| Ray Thomas | 36.2 | 29,121 | ||
| Total votes: 80,489 | |||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice
Ernie Aliseda advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Ernie Aliseda |
| ||||
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2016
- Main article: Texas Supreme Court elections, 2016
Contreras ran for the Texas Supreme Court, Place 5. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary and faced the incumbent Paul Green, winner of the Republican primary, in the November general election, along with Tom Oxford (L) and Charles E. Waterbury (G).[4]
Election results
November 8 general election
| Texas Supreme Court, Place 5, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Paul Green Incumbent |
54.30% | 4,758,334 | |
| Democratic | Dori Garza | 41.18% | 3,608,634 | |
| Libertarian | Tom Oxford | 3.29% | 288,504 | |
| Green | Charles E. Waterbury | 1.23% | 107,731 | |
| Total Votes (100% reporting) | 8,763,203 | |||
| Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results | ||||
March 1 primary election
| Texas Supreme Court, Place 5, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Dori Garza (unopposed) |
100.00% | 1,022,469 | |
| Total Votes (100% Reporting) | 1,022,469 | |||
| Source: Texas Secretary of State Official Results | ||||
Endorsements
2014
- See also: Texas judicial elections, 2014
Contreras ran for re-election to the Thirteenth District Court of Appeals.
Primary: She ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on March 4, 2014.
General: She defeated Doug Norman in the general election on November 4, 2014, receiving 50.9 percent of the vote.[5][6][7]
Judicial poll
Below are the results of the 2014 judicial poll, conducted by the State Bar of Texas, which asked attorneys to cast a vote in favor of their preferred candidate in each appellate race.[8]
| Place 6 Justice | |
| Candidate: | Votes: |
|---|---|
| Bradford M. Condit | 39 |
| Dori Garza | 405 |
| Doug Norman | 153 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Texas Courts, "Official biography of Justice Garza," accessed November 24, 2014
- ↑ justicedori, "MEET JUSTICE DORI," accessed February 12, 2018
- ↑ Texas Judicial Branch, "Justice Dori Contreras," accessed February 12, 2018
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedelect16 - ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2014 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County (A-L)"
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2014 March Primary Election Candidate Filings by County (M-Z)" (Search "Aransas")
- ↑ Aransas County Board of Elections, "Democratic Primary Election Results," March 4, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ State Bar of Texas, "Judicial Poll results," 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice 2019-2024 |
Succeeded by Jaime Tijerina (R) |
| Preceded by - |
Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals Place 6 -2019 |
Succeeded by - |
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
