Darlene Byrne
Darlene Byrne (Democratic Party) is a judge for Chief Justice of the Texas Third District Court of Appeals. She assumed office on January 1, 2021. Her current term ends on December 31, 2026.
Byrne (Democratic Party) is running for re-election for the Chief Justice judge of the Texas Third District Court of Appeals. She is on the ballot in the Democratic primary on March 3, 2026.[source]
Biography
Byrne received her J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center. She worked as a private practice attorney.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Texas intermediate appellate court elections, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on March 3, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Chief Justice
Incumbent Darlene Byrne (D) is running in the Democratic primary for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Darlene Byrne | |
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Republican primary
Republican primary for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Chief Justice
Cory Liu (R) is running in the Republican primary for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Cory Liu | ||
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2020
See also: Texas intermediate appellate court elections, 2020
General election
General election for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Chief Justice
Darlene Byrne defeated incumbent Jeff L. Rose in the general election for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Darlene Byrne (D) | 52.2 | 710,399 |
 | Jeff L. Rose (R) | 47.8 | 650,206 | |
| Total votes: 1,360,605 | |||
| = 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 Third District Court of Appeals Chief Justice
Darlene Byrne defeated Keith Hampton in the Democratic primary for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Darlene Byrne | 72.9 | 215,184 |
| Keith Hampton | 27.1 | 80,090 | ||
| Total votes: 295,274 | |||
| = 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 election
Republican primary for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Chief Justice
Incumbent Jeff L. Rose advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Third District Court of Appeals Chief Justice on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jeff L. Rose | 100.0 | 183,719 |
| Total votes: 183,719 | |||
| = 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
Endorsements
Click here for a link to Byrne's endorsements.
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] Incumbent Darlene Byrne ran unopposed in the Texas 126th District Court Democratic primary.[3]
| Texas 126th District Court, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Darlene Byrne Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 105,246 |
| Total Votes | 105,246 | |
| Source: Travis County Clerk, "Unofficial Results: Democratic Cumulative Results," accessed March 2, 2016 | ||
Darlene Byrne won without opposition in the general election.
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]
2012
Byrne was re-elected without opposition to the 126th District Court.[7]
- See also: Texas judicial elections, 2012
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Darlene Byrne has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Darlene Byrne, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.
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2020
Darlene Byrne completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Byrne's responses.
| Collapse all
- EFFICACY I understand the urgency of justice when dealing with people who find themselves in Court. Time is of the essence when making decisions that impact the lives of real Texans, whether that be in family court, civil court, or criminal court. I will take this same sense of urgency with me to the Appellate Court so that people's lives do not languish with delayed justice through delayed decision making.
- ENGAGEMENT Getting off the bench and supporting my community as a volunteer is important to my understanding of the needs of the community I serve, and knowing what is important to my community. Through this type of active engagement, I not only thrive on giving back, but stay grounded and in touch with the people I am entrusted to serve.
- LEADERSHIP I am not afraid of hard work and long hours, both on and off the bench. I have led a national judges' organization, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, on their board for a decade and as its President in 2015. These are but a few of her leadership roles, many of which have taken her all across the country to teach and consult other jurisdictions on best practices when it comes to making judicial decisions.
I understand the urgency of justice when dealing with people who find themselves in Court. Time is of the essence when making decisions that impact the lives of real Texans, whether that be in family court, civil court, or criminal court. I will take this same sense of urgency with me to the Appellate Court so that people's lives do not languish with delayed justice through delayed decision making.
ENGAGEMENT
Getting off the bench and supporting my community as a volunteer is important to my understanding of the needs of the community I serve, and knowing what is important to my community. Through this type of active engagement, I not only thrive on giving back, but stay grounded and in touch with the people I am entrusted to serve.
LEADERSHIP
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.
Key messages
Byrne submitted the following key messages to Ballotpedia on February 19, 2020.[8]
| “ |
Key Messages: ENGAGEMENT LEADERSHIP What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? |
” |
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
|
Officeholder Texas Third District Court of Appeals Chief Justice |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Campaign Website Bio
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "2012 General Election Results," November 6, 2012
- ↑ Ballotpedia's Elections Team, “Email communication with Rio Sauer from Darlene Byrne's 2020 campaign," February 19, 2020
- ↑ 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
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