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Kim Cooks

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Kim Cooks
Image of Kim Cooks
Prior offices
Texas 255th District Court

Elections and appointments
Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

University of Texas, Arlington

Law

Thurgood Marshall School of Law, 2002

Contact

Kim Cooks (Democratic Party) was a judge of the Texas 255th District Court. She assumed office on January 1, 2015. She left office on December 31, 2022.

Cooks (Democratic Party) ran for election for the Place 11 judge of the Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Elections

2024

See also: Texas intermediate appellate court elections, 2024

General election

General election for Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals Place 11

Gino Rossini defeated Kim Cooks in the general election for Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals Place 11 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Gino Rossini
Gino Rossini (R) Candidate Connection
 
50.5
 
766,448
Image of Kim Cooks
Kim Cooks (D)
 
49.5
 
751,844

Total votes: 1,518,292
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals Place 11

Kim Cooks defeated incumbent Cory Carlyle in the Democratic primary for Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals Place 11 on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kim Cooks
Kim Cooks
 
59.5
 
90,232
Image of Cory Carlyle
Cory Carlyle
 
40.5
 
61,509

Total votes: 151,741
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals Place 11

Gino Rossini advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals Place 11 on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Gino Rossini
Gino Rossini Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
185,898

Total votes: 185,898
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Cooks in this election.

2022

See also: Municipal elections in Dallas County, Texas (2022)

General election

The general election was canceled. Vonda Bailey won election in the general election for Texas 255th District Court.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas 255th District Court

Vonda Bailey defeated incumbent Kim Cooks in the Democratic primary for Texas 255th District Court on March 1, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Vonda Bailey
Vonda Bailey Candidate Connection
 
58.4
 
68,192
Image of Kim Cooks
Kim Cooks
 
41.6
 
48,476

Total votes: 116,668
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

General election

General election for Texas 255th District Court

Incumbent Kim Cooks won election in the general election for Texas 255th District Court on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kim Cooks
Kim Cooks (D)
 
100.0
 
472,142

Total votes: 472,142
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas 255th District Court

Incumbent Kim Cooks defeated Sandre Moncriffe in the Democratic primary for Texas 255th District Court on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kim Cooks
Kim Cooks
 
53.2
 
59,428
Image of Sandre Moncriffe
Sandre Moncriffe
 
46.8
 
52,207

Total votes: 111,635
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2014

See also: Texas judicial elections, 2014

Cooks ran for election to the 255th District Court.
Primary: She was successful in the Democratic primary on March 4, 2014, receiving 59.8 percent of the vote. She competed against Lori Chrisman Hockett.
General: She was unopposed in the general election on November 4, 2014.[1][2][3] 

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.[4]

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."[5]

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;*[6]
  • 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.[4]

*While no judge older than 74 may run for office, sitting judges who turn 75 are permitted to continue serving until their term expires.[4]

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Kim Cooks did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Kim Cooks did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary


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.


Kim Cooks campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals Place 11Lost general$77,150 $67,714
Grand total$77,150 $67,714
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

Education

Cooks earned her B.S. from the University of Texas at Arlington and her J.D. from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law in 2002.[7]

Career

Before her election to the bench, Cooks has been an attorney in private practice at the Law Office of Kim A. Cooks, P.L.L.C.[7]

See also


External links

Footnotes