JP Election Brief: Everything's bigger in Texas, including ballots

The JP Election Brief
Pulling back the curtain on the drama of judicial elections
In this issue...
Election news from: Texas

October 23, 2014

by: State Courts Staff

In the general election on November 4, Texas citizens will determine the fate of 926 judicial candidates vying for seats on Texas courts (not including candidates for the justice of the peace courts). Of those 926 candidates, 579 are incumbents while 590 are running unopposed.

Important dates: General election: November 4, 2014

Spotlight on Texas

Texas:

 

Texas judicial elections process

The winning candidates from each major party's primary, as well as any additional minor party candidates, compete in a general election on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. If a candidate was unopposed in the general election, their name will still appear on the general election ballot.

Judges of the Texas Supreme Court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and the Texas Court of Appeals are elected to six-year terms. Judges of the district courts, county courts, and justice of the peace courts are elected to five-year terms.

Texas Supreme Court races

• Four supreme court seats are up for election in 2014.
• Incumbents for all four seats will compete in the general election.
• Chief Justice Nathan Hecht beat his Republican challenger in the primary and will face two opponents in the general election.
• The Libertarian party has four candidates running for seats on the court, and the Green Party has two candidates on the ballot for seats on the court.

Partisan stakes

Currently, the Texas Supreme Court has nine Republicans and no Democrats on its bench. Four Republican justices are seeking re-election in 2014.

The key race to watch is for Place 6, where Justice Jeff Brown is being challenged by a judge of the state's other high court, Lawrence Meyers. Meyers has served on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals since 1992. He was also a Republican for his entire judicial career, but chose to run as a Democrat in this election.

Due to the GOP's dominance in Texas, the Republican primaries were pivotal in 2014. This was especially true for the Place 8 seat, in which no Democratic candidates filed. Because of this, the Republican Justice Phil Johnson is virtually assured election in November.

In Texas, Republicans control the governorship, as well as a majority in both legislative houses and both high courts. This is referred to as a Trifecta Plus by Ballotpedia. Maintaining a strong Republican majority on the state supreme court is favorable to the similarly controlled executive and legislative branches if any new laws face legal challenges. More information on state government trifectas is available here: Ballotpedia: State government trifectas.

Blue represents the Democratic Party, red represents the Republican Party and gray represents another, minor party.

Seats up for election

Hecht seat (Chief Justice)
Candidate	Vote %
Nathan Hecht	59.6%
William Moody	37.3%
Tom Oxford	3.1%
98.75% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Nathan Hecht
Winner	Nathan Hecht

Brown seat (Place 6)
Candidate	Vote %
Jeff Brown	60.4%
Lawrence Meyers	36.5%
Mark Ash	3.2%
98.75% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Jeff Brown
Winner	Jeff Brown

Boyd seat (Place 6)
Candidate	Vote %
Jeff Boyd	58.9%
Gina Benavides	37.6%
Don Fulton	2.8%
Charles E. Waterbury	0.7%
98.75% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Jeff Boyd
Winner	Jeff Boyd

Johnson seat (Place 8)
Candidate	Vote %
Phil Johnson	78.8%
RS Roberto Koelsch	12.0%
Jim Chisholm	9.3%
98.75% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Phil Johnson
Winner	Phil Johnson

Hecht seat (Chief justice, Place 1): Nathan Hecht has had just a few months to get settled in as the new chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court. He won the Republican primary with 60.48% of the vote. Democratic candidate, Bill Moody earned 100% of the votes cast in the Democratic primary. Moody and Tom Oxford, a Libertarian, will both be running against Hecht in the general election.

Brown seat (Place 6): Incumbent Judge Jeff Brown's time on the court has been brief. He was appointed to the bench on September 26, 2013, to fill the remainder of Hecht's term after he was elevated to the chief justice seat. Brown garnered 71.91% of the vote to win the Republican primary. He faces a challenge from Lawrence Meyers, who is currently serving on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Meyers earned 100% of the vote in the Democratic primary, after his headline-grabbing party switch. Mark Ash, a Libertarian candidate, Meyers and Brown will all compete for Brown's seat in the general election.

Boyd seat (Place 7): Incumbent Jeffrey S. Boyd has served on the Texas Supreme Court since 2012. He faced no Republican challengers and earned 100% of the votes cast during the Republican primary. Boyd will face Democrat Gina Benavides, Libertarian Don Fulton, and Green Party candidate Charles E. Waterbury in the general election. Boyd did not draw any Republican challengers, but he's also the only candidate for the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals who will face three challengers in the November general election.

Johnson seat (Place 8): Justice Phil Johnson's racked up 64.02% of the votes in the Republican primary race for his seat, beating out challenger Sharon McCally who earned just 35.97% of the votes. Johnson will compete against RS Roberto Koelsch, a Libertarian, and Jim Chisholm, from the Green Party, in the general election.

For more information, see:

• Texas Supreme Court elections, 2014

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals races

• Three seats on the court of criminal appeals are up for election in 2014.
• There are no incumbents running for re-election.
• One Democratic candidate, three Libertarians, two Green Party candidates and three Republicans are running for seats on the court.

Partisan stakes

Currently, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has eight Republicans and one Democrat on its bench. However, Judge Lawrence Meyers only recently switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party, so the GOP, in reality, has held a monopoly on the court. Meyers is now seeking election to the Texas Supreme Court, and if he is successful, his seat on the court of criminal appeals will be vacated and will not be replaced in this year's election. Three Republican seats are up for election this year, vacated by retiring justices.

Due to the GOP's dominance in Texas, the Republican primaries were extremely important in these elections. This was especially true for the Place 4 and Place 9 seats, in which no Democratic candidates filed. Because of this, the Republican candidates Yeary and Newell are essentially guaranteed to be elected. The general election race for Place 3 will feature a member of both political parties.

Blue represents the Democratic Party, red represents the Republican Party and gray represents another, minor party.

Seats up for election

Price seat (Place 3)
Candidate	Vote %
Bert Richardson	59.9%
John Granberg	36.5%
Mark Bennett	3.6%
98.75% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Tom Price
Winner	Bert Richardson

Womack seat (Place 4)
Candidate	Vote %
Kevin Patrick Yeary	76.3%
Quanah Parker	13.2%
Judith Sanders-Castro	10.4%
98.75% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Paul Womack
Winner	Kevin Patrick Yeary

Cochran seat (Place 9)
Candidate	Vote %
David Newell	78.3%
William Bryan Strange	13.1%
George Joseph Altgelt	8.6%
98.75% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Cathy Cochran
Winner	David Newell

Price seat (Place 3): Three candidates are squaring off to fill the vacant seat created by the retirement of Judge Tom Price. Former Judge Bert Richardson defeated Judge Barbara Walther in the Republican primary and will now compete against Democrat John Granberg and Libertarian Mark Bennett on November 4.

Womack seat (Place 4): Retiring Judge Paul Womack's seat has drawn the most candidates. A three-way primary contest between Republicans Richard Dean Davis, Jani Jo Wood and Kevin Patrick Yeary ended with a clear winner. Yeary, an appellate prosecutor in Bexar County, earned 54.7% of the vote, earning him the right to compete against Libertarian Quanah Parker and Green party candidate Judith Sanders-Castro in the general election. Davis earned 28.0% of the vote, while Wood was able to capture just 17.4% during the primary.

Cochran seat (Seat 9): Competing for retiring Judge Cathy Cochran's seat are David Newell, who prevailed in the Republican primary against William "Bud" Kirkendall, Libertarian candidate William Bryan Strange, and Green Party candidate George Joseph Altgelt.

For more information, see:

• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals elections, 2014

Campaign dollars spent

The following is a breakdown of campaign contributions received per candidate as of September 25, 2014:

Texas Supreme Court candidates

Place 1

Candidate	Total contributions
Nathan L. Hecht	$1,277,582.65
William Moody	$11,000.00
Tom Oxford	$0.00

Place 6:

Candidate	Total contributions
Jeff Brown	$626,452.25
Mark Ash	$0.00
Lawrence Meyers	$1,000.00

Place 7:

Candidate	Total contributions
Jeffrey S. Boyd	$368,134.96
Gina Benavides	$59,887.89
Don Fulton	$0.00
Charles E. Waterbury	$0.00

Place 8:

Candidate	Total contributions
Phil Johnson	$802,133.30
RS Roberto Koelsch	$3.00
Jim Chisholm	$0.00

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals candidates

Seat 3

Candidate	Total contributions
John Granberg	$1,800.00
Mark Bennett	$0.00
Bert Richardson	$45,752.30

Seat 4

Candidate	Total contributions
Kevin Patrick Yeary	$40,232.11
Judith Sanders-Castro	$0.00
Quanah Parker	$0.00

Seat 9

Candidate	Total contributions
William Bryan Strange	$0.00
George Joseph Altgelt	$0.00
David Newell	$34,978.00

Every Thursday, Judgepedia's State Courts Staff highlights interesting events in the world of judicial elections across the nation. Make sure to use Judgepedia's Election Central the rest of the week as a hub for all your judicial election needs.

See also

• Judgepedia's Election Central
• 2014 judicial election dates