Texas intermediate appellate court elections, 2026

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The terms of twenty-four Texas intermediate appellate court judges will expire on December 31, 2026. Two of the seats are up for special election, and the other 22 seats are up for regular election. All twenty-four seats will hold partisan general elections on November 3, 2026. The primary was March 3, 2026, and a primary runoff is May 26, 2026. The filing deadline was December 8, 2025.

Candidates and results

Texas First District Court of Appeals

Texas First District Court of Appeals general, 2026
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name. The candidate list in this election may not be complete. Please contact Ballotpedia about candidate additions, withdrawals, or disqualifications.
Office	Democratic	Republican	Other
Place 3	Veronica Rivas-Molloy (i)	Primary runoff results pending
Place 4	Julie Countiss	David Gunn (i)
Place 5	Amparo Guerra (i)	Jessica Caird

Texas First District Court of Appeals primary, 2026
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
Office	Democratic	Republican	Other
Place 3	Veronica Rivas-Molloy (i)	Todd Frankfort Zachary Gibson Elizabeth Ling Urrego Malcolm Whittaker
Place 4	Julie Countiss	David Gunn (i)
Place 5	Amparo Guerra (i)	Jessica Caird

Texas Second District Court of Appeals

Texas Second District Court of Appeals general, 2026
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name. The candidate list in this election may not be complete. Please contact Ballotpedia about candidate additions, withdrawals, or disqualifications.
Office	Democratic	Republican	Other
Place 2		Chris Taylor
Place 7		Brian Walker (i)

Texas Second District Court of Appeals primary, 2026
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
Office	Democratic	Republican	Other
Place 2	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Chris Taylor
Place 7	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Brian Walker (i)

Texas Third District Court of Appeals

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Chief Justice

Incumbent Darlene Byrne and Cory Liu are running in the general election for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Darlene Byrne (D)
	Submit photo	Cory Liu (R)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Chief Justice

Incumbent Darlene Byrne advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Darlene Byrne	100.0	296,124

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 296,124
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Chief Justice

Cory Liu advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Cory Liu	100.0	185,156

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	There were no incumbents in this race. Source	Total votes: 185,156
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice

Antonia Arteaga and Bert Richardson are running in the general election for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Antonia Arteaga (D)
		Bert Richardson (R)

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice

Antonia Arteaga defeated Velia Meza in the Democratic primary for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Antonia Arteaga	50.7	115,720
		Velia Meza	49.3	112,607

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	There were no incumbents in this race. Source	Total votes: 228,327
= 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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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice

Bert Richardson advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bert Richardson	100.0	135,136

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. Source	Total votes: 135,136
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals

Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals general, 2026
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name. The candidate list in this election may not be complete. Please contact Ballotpedia about candidate additions, withdrawals, or disqualifications.
Office	Democratic	Republican	Other
Place 3	Amanda Reichek	Matthew Kolodoski
Place 6	Monica Purdy	Benjamin N. Smith
Place 8	Andrea Plumlee	Ashley Wysocki

Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals primary, 2026
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name. = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
Office	Democratic	Republican	Other
Place 3	Amanda Reichek	Matthew Kolodoski
Place 6	Monica Purdy	Benjamin N. Smith
Place 8	Nicholas Palmer   Andrea Plumlee	Ashley Wysocki

Texas Sixth District Court of Appeals

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for Texas Sixth District Court of Appeals Place 3

Incumbent L. Charles van Cleef is running in the general election for Texas Sixth District Court of Appeals Place 3 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	L. Charles van Cleef (R)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Sixth District Court of Appeals Place 3

Incumbent L. Charles van Cleef advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Sixth District Court of Appeals Place 3 on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	L. Charles van Cleef	100.0	83,090

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 83,090
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Texas Seventh District Court of Appeals

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for Texas Seventh District Court of Appeals Chief Justice

Judy Parker is running in the general election for Texas Seventh District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Judy Parker (R)

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Seventh District Court of Appeals Chief Justice

Judy Parker advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Seventh District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Judy Parker	100.0	77,794

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. Source	Total votes: 77,794
= 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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Texas Eighth District Court of Appeals

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for Texas Eighth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice

Incumbent Maria Salas-Mendoza is running in the general election for Texas Eighth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Maria Salas-Mendoza (D)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Eighth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice

Incumbent Maria Salas-Mendoza advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Eighth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Maria Salas-Mendoza	100.0	59,796

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 59,796
= 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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Texas Ninth District Court of Appeals

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for Texas Ninth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice

Incumbent Scott Golemon is running in the general election for Texas Ninth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Scott Golemon (R)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Ninth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice

Incumbent Scott Golemon advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Ninth District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Scott Golemon	100.0	112,773

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 112,773
= 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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Texas Tenth District Court of Appeals

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for Texas Tenth District Court of Appeals Place 2

Incumbent Lee Harris is running in the general election for Texas Tenth District Court of Appeals Place 2 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Lee Harris (R)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Tenth District Court of Appeals Place 2

Incumbent Lee Harris advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Tenth District Court of Appeals Place 2 on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Lee Harris	100.0	109,888

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 109,888
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Texas Eleventh District Court of Appeals

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for Texas Eleventh District Court of Appeals Place 2

Incumbent Bruce Williams is running in the general election for Texas Eleventh District Court of Appeals Place 2 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Bruce Williams (R)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Eleventh District Court of Appeals Place 2

Incumbent Bruce Williams advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Eleventh District Court of Appeals Place 2 on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bruce Williams	100.0	67,235

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 67,235
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Texas Twelfth District Court of Appeals

Texas Twelfth District Court of Appeals general, 2026
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name. The candidate list in this election may not be complete. Please contact Ballotpedia about candidate additions, withdrawals, or disqualifications.
Office	Democratic	Republican	Other
Chief Justice		Brian Hoyle
Place 3		Michael Davis (i)

Texas Twelfth District Court of Appeals primary, 2026
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
Office	Democratic	Republican	Other
Chief Justice	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Brian Hoyle
Place 3	The Democratic primary was canceled.	Michael Davis (i)

Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals Place 6

Incumbent Clarissa Silva and John Ball are running in the general election for Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals Place 6 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Clarissa Silva (R)
		John Ball (D)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals Place 6

John Ball advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals Place 6 on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Ball	100.0	107,516

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. Source	Total votes: 107,516
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals Place 6

Incumbent Clarissa Silva advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Thirteenth District Court of Appeals Place 6 on March 3, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Clarissa Silva	100.0	84,063

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 84,063
= 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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Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals

Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals general, 2026
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name. = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. The candidate list in this election may not be complete. Please contact Ballotpedia about candidate additions, withdrawals, or disqualifications.
Office	Democratic	Republican	Other
Chief Justice	Sarah Beth Landau	Kevin Jewell
Place 7	Primary runoff results pending	Ken Wise (i)

Texas Fourteenth District Court of Appeals primary, 2026
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name. = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
Office	Democratic	Republican	Other
Chief Justice	Connie Gonzales   Sarah Beth Landau	Kevin Jewell
Place 7	Michael Adams-Hurta   William Demond Derek Obialo	Ken Wise (i)

Texas Fifteenth District Court of Appeals

Texas Fifteenth District Court of Appeals general, 2026
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name. = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. The candidate list in this election may not be complete. Please contact Ballotpedia about candidate additions, withdrawals, or disqualifications.
Office	Democratic	Republican	Other
Place 1	Jerry Zimmerer	Scott Brister (i)
Place 2	Thomas Baker	Scott Field (i)
Place 3	Marc Meyer	April Farris (i)

Texas Fifteenth District Court of Appeals primary, 2026
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name. = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
Office	Democratic	Republican	Other
Place 1	Jerry Zimmerer	Scott Brister (i)
Place 2	Thomas Baker	Scott Field (i)
Place 3	Marc Meyer	April Farris (i)

Judges not on the ballot

• Dana Womack (R) - (2nd District, Place 2)
• Rebeca Martinez (D) - (4th District, Chief justice)
• Bonnie Lee Goldstein (D) - (5th District, Place 3)
• Craig Smith (D) - (5th District, Place 6)
• Dennise Garcia (D) - (5th District, Place 8)
• Brian Quinn (R) - (7th District, Chief justice)
• James Worthen (R) - (12th District, Chief justice)
• Tracy E. Christopher (R) - (14th District, Chief justice)

Voting information

See also: Voting in Texas

Election information in Texas: Nov. 3, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

• In-person: Oct. 5, 2026
• By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 5, 2026
• Online: N/A

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

• In-person: Oct. 23, 2026
• By mail: Received by Oct. 23, 2026
• Online: N/A

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

• In-person: Nov. 3, 2026
• By mail: Postmarked by Nov. 3, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 19, 2026 to Oct. 30, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (CT/MT)

Selection

The justices of the Texas Court of Appeals are selected in district level partisan elections. The elected justices serve six-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to remain on the court.

Qualifications

To serve on the Texas Court of Appeals, a justice must be:

• a U.S. citizen;
• a resident of Texas;
• licensed to practice law in the state;
• between the ages of 35 and 75;* and
• a practicing lawyer and/or judge for at least 10 years.

Chief justice

The chief justice of each district court is selected by voters at large. He or she serves in that capacity for a full six-year term.

Vacancies

In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement who must be confirmed by the Texas Senate. The appointee serves until the next general election, in which he or she may compete to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Texas Courts of Appeals

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

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