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Erin Swanson
Erin Swanson (Republican Party) ran for election for judge of the Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 2 in Texas. She lost in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Swanson was a district-level delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Texas. Swanson was one of 104 delegates from Texas bound by state party rules to support Ted Cruz at the convention.[1] Cruz suspended his campaign on May 3, 2016. At the time, he had approximately 546 bound delegates. For more on what happened to his delegates, see this page.
Elections
2018
General election
General election for Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 2
Jim Kovach defeated Erin Swanson in the general election for Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 2 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jim Kovach (D) | 56.0 | 658,165 | |
 | Erin Swanson (R) | 44.0 | 516,667 | |
| Total votes: 1,174,832 | |||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 2
Jim Kovach defeated Stanley Santire in the Democratic primary for Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 2 on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jim Kovach | 62.5 | 83,571 | |
| Stanley Santire | 37.5 | 50,164 | ||
| Total votes: 133,735 | |||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 2
Erin Swanson defeated incumbent Theresa Chang in the Republican primary for Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 2 on March 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Erin Swanson | 51.0 | 65,141 |
 | Theresa Chang | 49.0 | 62,504 | |
| Total votes: 127,645 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Selection method
- See also: Partisan election of judges
Judges of the county courts are elected in partisan elections by the county they serve and serve four-year terms, with vacancies filled by a vote of the county commissioners.[2]
Qualifications
To serve on a county court, a judge must:[2]
- be at least 25 years old;
- be a resident of his or her respective county for at least two years; and
- have practiced law or served as a judge for at least four years preceding the election.
2016 delegate
Delegate rules
At-large delegates from Texas to the national convention were selected by a state nominations committee and approved by the Texas State GOP Convention in May 2016. District-level delegates were elected by congressional districts at the state convention and then approved by the convention as a whole. At the national convention, all delegates were bound on the first ballot unless their candidate withdrew from the race or released his or her delegates. A delegate remained bound on the second ballot if his or her candidate received at least 20 percent of the total vote on the first ballot. On the third and subsequent ballots, all delegates were to become unbound.
Texas primary results
- See also: Presidential election in Texas, 2016
| Texas Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
| Jeb Bush | 1.2% | 35,420 | 0 | |
| Ben Carson | 4.2% | 117,969 | 0 | |
| Chris Christie | 0.1% | 3,448 | 0 | |
 Ted Cruz |
43.8% | 1,241,118 | 104 | |
| Carly Fiorina | 0.1% | 3,247 | 0 | |
| Lindsey Graham | 0.1% | 1,706 | 0 | |
| Elizabeth Gray | 0.2% | 5,449 | 0 | |
| Mike Huckabee | 0.2% | 6,226 | 0 | |
| John Kasich | 4.2% | 120,473 | 0 | |
| Rand Paul | 0.3% | 8,000 | 0 | |
| Marco Rubio | 17.7% | 503,055 | 3 | |
| Rick Santorum | 0.1% | 2,006 | 0 | |
| Donald Trump | 26.8% | 758,762 | 48 | |
| Other | 1% | 29,609 | 0 | |
| Totals | 2,836,488 | 155 | ||
| Source: Texas Secretary of State and CNN | ||||
Delegate allocation
Texas had 155 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 108 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's 36 congressional districts). District-level delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate had to win at least 20 percent of the primary vote in a district in order to be eligible to receive any of that district's delegates. If only one candidate met the 20 percent threshold in a district, he or she won all of the district's delegates. If two candidates met this threshold, the first place finisher received two of the district's delegates; the second place finisher received the remaining delegate. If no candidate won 20 percent of the vote, the top three finishers in a district each received one of the district's delegates. If a candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote in a district, he or she received all of the district's delegates.[3][4]
Of the remaining 47 delegates, 44 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate had to win at least 20 percent of the statewide primary vote in order to be eligible to receive any of the state's at-large delegates. If only one candidate broke the 20 percent threshold, the second place finisher still received a portion of the state's at-large delegates. If a candidate won more than 50 percent of the statewide vote, he or she received all of the state's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention.[3][4]
See also
- Courts in Texas
- Local trial court judicial elections, 2018
- Municipal elections in Harris County, Texas (2018)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Texas GOP, "National Convention," May 19, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Texas Secretary of State, "Qualifications for Office," accessed January 14, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
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
