Joe Drago
Joe Drago (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Texas House of Representatives to represent District 96. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Drago completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.
Drago was a 2016 candidate for the Texas 348th District Court in Texas.[1] Drago lost in the general election on November 8, 2016.
Biography
Joe Drago was born in Fort Worth, Texas. He received his bachelor's degree in marketing from the University of Texas at Austin in 1990 and his Juris Doctor from Baylor Law School in 1993. His professional experience includes working as an attorney for Brackett & Ellis, including as a shareholder in the firm beginning in 2001. Drago has been a member of the Texas Bar Foundation.[2]
Elections
2020
See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Texas House of Representatives District 96
David Cook defeated Joe Drago and Nelson Range in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 96 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | David Cook (R) | 51.2 | 45,053 |
 | Joe Drago (D)  | 46.1 | 40,550 | |
 | Nelson Range (L) | 2.7 | 2,362 | |
| Total votes: 87,965 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 96
Joe Drago advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 96 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joe Drago | 100.0 | 12,090 |
| Total votes: 12,090 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 96
David Cook advanced from the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 96 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Cook | 100.0 | 10,420 |
| Total votes: 10,420 | |||
| = 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Bill Zedler (R)
Libertarian convention
Libertarian convention for Texas House of Representatives District 96
Nelson Range advanced from the Libertarian convention for Texas House of Representatives District 96 on March 21, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Nelson Range (L) |
| ||||
| = 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 finance
2016
Mike Wallach defeated Joe Drago in the Texas 348th District Court general election.
| Texas 348th District Court, General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Mike Wallach |
57.39% | 369,450 | |
| Democratic | Joe Drago | 42.61% | 274,272 | |
| Total Votes | 643,722 | |||
| Source: Tarrant County, Texas, "Official Results," accessed December 15, 2016 | ||||
Joe Drago ran unopposed in the Texas 348th District Court Democratic primary.[1]
| Texas 348th District Court, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Joe Drago (unopposed) |
100.00% | 64,962 |
| Total Votes (100) | 64,962 | |
| Source: Tarrant County, "Unofficial Results," accessed March 1, 2016 | ||
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.[3]
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."[4]
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;*[5]
- 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.[3]
*While no judge older than 74 may run for office, sitting judges who turn 75 are permitted to continue serving until their term expires.[3]
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Joe Drago completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Drago's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
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.
2016
Drago's campaign website included the following themes:
| “ |
I believe a judge should exhibit fairness, integrity and an even temperament regardless of the circumstances that come before the court. I also believe that ALL people have the right to be heard, regardless of race, creed, gender, party affiliation, plaintiff or defendant. These are the tenets of my campaign. I have practiced in both state and federal courts and represented my clients’ best interest within the framework of Texas statutory and case law. The overriding goal of any judge should be fairness under existing law as set forth by the Texas Constitution, Texas State Legislature, United States Constitution and federal law. I have the skill set and experience necessary to be an impartial jurist for ALL citizens of Tarrant County.[6][7] |
” |
| —Joe Drago | ||
See also
2020 Elections
External links
- Campaign website
- Campaign Facebook page
- Campaign Twitter page
- Campaign website (2016 judicial election)
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Texas Secretary of State, "Official candidate list," accessed December 18, 2015
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 14, 2019
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Texas," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ Texas Courts Online, "Administrative Judicial Regions," accessed September 12, 2014
- ↑ Texas State Historical Association, "Judiciary," accessed September 12, 2014
- ↑ Drago for Judge, "Home," accessed October 13, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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
