Michael Abner

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Michael Abner

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 3, 2026

Education

High school

Clear Lake High School

Bachelor's

American University, 2005

Personal

Profession

Assistant District Attorney

Contact

Campaign Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Michael Abner (Democratic Party) ran for election for judge of the Texas 496th District Court. Abner lost in the Democratic primary on March 3, 2026.

Abner completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Michael Abner earned a bachelor's degree from American University in 2005. Abner's career experience includes working as an assistant district attorney.

Elections

2026

See also: Municipal elections in Harris County, Texas (2026)

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for Texas 496th District Court

Incumbent Dan Simons (R) and Ramona Franklin (D) are running in the general election for Texas 496th District Court on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Dan Simons (R)
		Ramona Franklin (D)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= 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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Democratic primary

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Democratic primary for Texas 496th District Court

Ramona Franklin (D) defeated Michael Abner (D) in the Democratic primary for Texas 496th District Court on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ramona Franklin	61.6	190,184
		Michael Abner	38.4	118,747

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	There were no incumbents in this race. Source	Total votes: 308,931
= 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.

Republican primary

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Republican primary for Texas 496th District Court

Incumbent Dan Simons (R) advanced from the Republican primary for Texas 496th District Court on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dan Simons	100.0	149,148

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 149,148
= 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.

Endorsements

Abner received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

• Texas Gulf Coast Federation of Labor
• Houston Chronicle Editorial Board

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Michael Abner completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Abner's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am an assistant district attorney and have been a prosecutor for 13 years and was a criminal defense lawyer for 4 years.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I am experienced and have tried over 50 felony jury trials.
• I am fair.
• I will be professional and courteous to all people in the courtroom.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about helping youthful offenders.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Area 5 democrats, Houston Lawyers Association, MABAH, Bay Area Democratic Movement, Bay Area New Democrats, Harris County Tejano Democrats

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.

See also

2026 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

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Newsletters

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External links

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Candidate

Texas 496th District Court

Facebook

Personal

LinkedIn

Footnotes

Texas courts

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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