Kelli Johnson
Kelli Johnson is a judge of the Texas 178th District Court. Her current term ends on December 31, 2028.
Johnson (Democratic Party) ran for re-election for judge of the Texas 178th District Court. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Education
Johnson attended Texas Christian University and the University of Salamanca in Spain for her bachelor's degree. She received her J.D. from South Texas College of Law.[1]
Career
Johnson has served as an assistant district attorney since 1999.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Municipal elections in Harris County, Texas (2024)
General election
General election for Texas 178th District Court
Incumbent Kelli Johnson won election in the general election for Texas 178th District Court on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kelli Johnson (D) | 100.0 | 897,008 |
| Total votes: 897,008 | |||
 = 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 election
Democratic primary for Texas 178th District Court
Incumbent Kelli Johnson advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas 178th District Court on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kelli Johnson | 100.0 | 137,884 |
| Total votes: 137,884 | |||
| = 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
Johnson received the following endorsements.
2020
See also: Municipal elections in Harris County, Texas (2020)
General election
General election for Texas 178th District Court
Incumbent Kelli Johnson won election in the general election for Texas 178th District Court on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kelli Johnson (D) | 100.0 | 1,016,426 |
| Total votes: 1,016,426 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas 178th District Court
Incumbent Kelli Johnson advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas 178th District Court on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kelli Johnson | 100.0 | 230,799 |
| Total votes: 230,799 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2016
Texas held general elections for local judicial offices on November 8, 2016. A primary election took place on March 1, 2016. A primary runoff election was held on May 24, 2016, for any seat where the top vote recipient did not receive a majority of the primary vote.[2] Kelli Johnson defeated Lori Chambers Gray in the Texas 178th District Court Democratic primary.[3]
| Texas 178th District Court, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Kelli Johnson |
60.32% | 90,391 |
| Lori Chambers Gray | 39.68% | 59,462 |
| Total Votes | 149,853 | |
| Source: Harris County, Texas, "Democratic Party Cumulative Report-Unofficial," accessed March 2, 2016 | ||
Kelli Johnson defeated Phil Gommels in the Texas 178th District Court general election.
| Texas 178th District Court, General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Kelli Johnson |
54.11% | 685,362 | |
| Republican | Phil Gommels | 45.89% | 581,206 | |
| Total Votes | 1,266,568 | |||
| Source: Harris County, Texas, "Election Results," accessed December 9, 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.[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]
Endorsements
Johnson received the endorsement of the Houston Chronicle in the 2016 primary election.[7]
2014
- See also: Texas judicial elections, 2014
Johnson ran for election to the Harris County Criminal Court at Law.
Primary: She ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on March 4, 2014.
General: She was defeated in the general election on November 4, 2014, after receiving 45.6 percent of the vote. She competed against Jay Karahan.[8]
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Kelli Johnson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Kelli Johnson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Awards and associations
Awards
- Chief of Police Accomodation
- Prosecutor of the Year, Harris County Gang Task Force
- Victim Appreciation Awards
Associations
- Houston Bar Association
- Texas District and County Attorney's Association
- The Oaks Business Association
- Oak Forest Homeowner's Association
- Healthcare for the Homeless
- Tejano Democrats
- Houston GLBT[1]
Approach to the law
| “ | Justice is more than a conviction or an acquittal. It's about following the rule of law and preserving the rights of our citizens.[9] | ” |
| —Kelli Johnson[1] | ||
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Information submitted on Judgepedia's candidate submission form on 8/7/2014
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2016 Election Dates," accessed December 18, 2015
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Official candidate list," accessed December 18, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 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
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "For District judges," February 10, 2016
- ↑ Harris County Texas, "Democratic Party Cumulative Report - March 4, 2014 Primary Election," March 5, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ 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
