Texas Supreme Court 2026 election: Who is running and what to know

Editor’s note: To help readers learn more about the candidates running for statewide seats, The Texas Tribune is sharing information about the Republican, Democratic and third-party candidates. For more information on midterms and the voting process, check out our election resources here.

About the elected seat: The Texas Supreme Court is the state’s highest civil court, the final arbiter of major issues of state law. Justices are elected to six-year terms in partisan elections, but if a justice steps down before their term expires the governor appoints their successor. Gov. Greg Abbott, a former member of the court, initially appointed seven of the nine current justices. All of the current justices are Republicans; there has not been a Democrat elected to the bench since the 1990s.

What’s at stake: The Texas Supreme Court interprets the state Constitution to decide issues of major importance, like whether state laws can remain in effect or if elected leaders are overstepping their roles. They get to decide which cases to review, and their rulings — as it pertains to purely state law — are final, giving the nine justices huge influence over the laws of Texas. (The U.S. Supreme Court can overrule a state supreme court in cases that involve federal law.) In recent years, the Supreme Court upheld Texas’ near-total abortion ban and prohibition on gender-transition care for minors; weighed in on pandemic protocols for elections and evictions; and intervened to delay the execution of Robert Roberson, a death row inmate accused of killing his 2-year-old daughter. The court also has the power to create rules for the judiciary, including recently affirming that judges can decline to perform same-sex marriages based on sincerely held religious beliefs. Four of the nine spots on the court are on the ballot this year, including the chief justice position.

Candidates at a glance:

Place 1, Chief Justice

Campaign site

Jimmy Blacklock

Republican, incumbent

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $783,574
• Raised between Jan. 1-June 30: $381,700

💰 Major donors this year:

• Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC, the state’s leading advocacy group for limiting businesses’ legal liability – $25,000
• Hunton Andrews Kurth PAC – $15,000
• Jackson Walker LLP PAC – $10,000
• Valero Energy Corporation PAC – $10,000
• TREPAC-Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee – $10,000
• Texas Alliance for Life PAC (Spent money in support of the candidate. This may have been done without the candidate’s knowledge or consent.)

Experience:

• Chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court since January 2025
• Appointed to the Texas Supreme Court by Abbott in January 2018
• Served as Abbott’s general counsel from 2015 to 2018, and worked under him at the Texas Attorney General’s Office from 2009 to 2015
• Clerked for Judge Jerry Smith on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
• Graduate of Yale Law School

Political ideology: Blacklock is a Republican who touts his strict adherence to the plain text of the Constitution, a judicial philosophy known as “originalism” adopted by the conservative legal movement. Before he became a judge, he oversaw legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act, defended Texas’ abortion laws and fought against benefits for same-sex couples, among a slew of other cases.

In the news:

• Texas Supreme Court rejects Abbott’s request to remove Democratic Rep. Gene Wu from office over redistricting protest, The Texas Tribune (2026)
• Legal fight over SpaceX beach closures hits Texas Supreme Court, The Texas Tribune (2026)
• Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Warns Dallas Judge Over Courtroom Mask Mandate, Texas Scorecard (2026)
• Texas Supreme Court ‘Decisively’ Answers State Commission on Judicial Conduct About Same-Sex Ceremonies, The Texan (2026)
• Texas Justices End Case Assignment System in Austin, San Antonio, Bloomberg Law (2026)
• New Texas Supreme Court chief justice calls for judicial raises, changes to bail laws, The Texas Tribune (2025)
• Jimmy Blacklock named new chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court, The Texas Tribune (2025)
• He’s been a Texas Supreme Court justice for a month. Now Jimmy Blacklock must become a candidate., The Texas Tribune (2018)

Endorsements:

• Gov. Greg Abbott
• Anti-abortion groups Texas Alliance for Life and Texas Right to Life
• Texas Civil Justice League, a group focused on electing judges who support restricting lawsuits against businesses

How to contact:

[email protected]

Campaign site

Maggie Ellis

Democrat

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $53,034
• Raised Jan. 1-June 30: $33,766

💰 Major donors this year:

• Democratic Women of Comal County – $2,500
• Elizabeth Davis, retired – $3,500
• James Gilbreath, attorney at Walters Gilbreath PLLC – $2,632
• Todd L. Kelly, attorney at Lone Star Legal – $1,000
• Sharon Richardson, retired – $1,000

Experience:

• Justice on Texas’ 3rd Court of Appeals since January 2025
• Previously worked in private practice with a focus on juvenile and family law
• Former assistant district attorney at the Travis County District Attorney’s Office
• Former administrative law judge
• Former public school teacher and foster mom

Political ideology: Ellis is a Democrat who is running on a platform of removing politics from the judiciary and expanding access to justice. She has said she decided to run for the seat after the Texas Supreme Court issued guidance saying judges did not have to perform same-sex marriages, a decision she called “an attack on our community and our Constitution.”

In the news:

• For Texas’ highest courts, two Democratic races decided, one GOP race goes to runoff, The Texas Tribune (2026)
• Republican sweep in Texas also extended to state’s appellate courts, The Texas Tribune (2024)
• UT alumna becomes first openly queer woman elected to Texas Court of Appeals, The Daily Texan (2024)
• Overcoming Poverty, Abandonment, Texas Woman Running for Judge, Spectrum News (2019)

Endorsements:

• AFL-CIO
• Coalition for Democratic Allies, a Central Texas organizing group
• Austin Young Democrats
• Bexar County Young Democrats
• Liberal Austin Democrats
• NxNW Democrats, an Austin-based group
• Stonewall Democrats of Austin
• The Caucus, a Houston LGBTQ+ political advocacy group
• Sabine Area Central Labor Council

How to contact:

[email protected]

Place 2

Campaign site

James Sullivan

Republican, incumbent

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $590,381
• Raised between Jan. 1-June 30: $317,601

💰 Major donors this year:

• Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC, the state’s leading advocacy group for limiting businesses’ legal liability – $25,000
• Bracewell PAC – $10,000
• Jackson Walker L.L.P PAC – $15,000
• Baker Botts Amicus Fund – $10,000
• Kelly Hart PAC – $10,000
• Texas Alliance for Life PAC (Spent money in support of the candidate. This may have been done without the candidate’s knowledge or consent.)
• Texans for Life Committee LIFE PAC (Spent money in support of the candidate. This may have been done without the candidate’s knowledge or consent.)

Experience:

• Appointed by Abbott to the Texas Supreme Court in January 2025
• Served as Abbott’s general counsel and deputy general counsel
• Served as assistant solicitor general when Abbott was attorney general
• Clerked for Judge Thomas B. Griffith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
• Graduate of Harvard Law School

Political ideology: Sullivan is a conservative Republican who has said he will “run through a wall for the rule of law” and promises “bold, relentless, conservative judging.”

In the news:

• Newest Texas High Court Member Seeks Austin Federal Judgeship, Bloomberg Law (2025)
• New SCOTX Justice Sullivan Once Ran Afoul of the Fifth Circuit for Tone of Rehearing Petition, Texas Lawbook (2025)
• Jimmy Blacklock named new chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court, The Texas Tribune (2025)

Endorsements:

• Gov. Greg Abbott
• Texas Alliance for Life, an anti-abortion group
• Texas Civil Justice League, a group focused on electing judges who support restricting lawsuits against businesses

How to contact:

P.O. Box 11583

Austin, TX 78711

Campaign site

Chari Kelly

Democrat

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $105,425
• Raised between Jan. 1-June 30: $57,056

💰 Major donors this year:

• Benny Agosto Jr PC, managing partner at Abraham Watkins – $5,000
• Randy Howry, partner at Howry Breen & Herman LLP – $5,000
• Jack E. McGehee LP, founding partner at a trial firm – $5,000
• Yvonne Puig, partner at Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP – $5,000
• Steven Samples, attorney at Samples Ames – $5,000

Experience:

• Has served on Texas’ 3rd Court of Appeals since 2019
• Former felony prosecutor for the Travis and Comal County district attorney’s offices
• Former assistant attorney general in the Civil Medicaid Fraud unit at the Texas Office of the Attorney General
• Former staff attorney for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
• An Army veteran, Kelly was a paratrooper and captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps where she worked as a defense attorney at Fort Hood and Joint Base San Antonio

Political ideology: Kelly is a Democrat who says she is a “committed defender of the Constitution.”

In the news:

• Texas appellate justices appear skeptical of Attorney General Ken Paxton defense that he’s exempt from state’s whistleblower law, Texas Tribune (2025)
• Democrats sweep 3rd Court of Appeals races, Austin American-Statesman (2018)

Endorsements:

• AFL-CIO
• Austin Young Democrats
• Bay Area Democratic Movement
• Liberal Austin Democrats
• University Democrats
• Sabine Area Central Labor Council

How to contact:

[email protected]

Place 7

Campaign site

Kyle Hawkins

Republican, incumbent

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $216,374
• Raised between Jan. 1-June 30: 106,770

💰 Major donors this year:

• Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC, the state’s leading advocacy group for limiting businesses’ legal liability – $25,000
• Bracewell PAC – $10,000
• Valero PAC (State) – $10,000
• Texas Apartment Association PAC –  $5,000
• Davis, Gerald & Cremer PC, a Texas energy law firm – $2,500
• Texans for Life Committee LIFE PAC (Spent money in support of the candidate. This may have been done without the candidate’s knowledge or consent.)

Experience:

• The newest Supreme Court justice, Hawkins was appointed by Abbott in October 2025
• Served on the transition team for the Trump administration’s Department of Justice as counselor to the U.S. solicitor general
• Attorney in private practice at Lehotsky Keller and Gibson Dunn
• Served as Texas solicitor general from 2018 to 2021, and assistant solicitor general from 2017 to 2018
• Law clerk to Judge Edith Jones on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice Samuel Alito on the U.S. Supreme Court

Political ideology: Hawkins is a conservative Republican who, as an attorney, has litigated major cases against the Affordable Care Act and Planned Parenthood, and testified to Congress about constitutional issues with the Voting Rights Act.

In the news:

• Former Texas Solicitor General Kyle Hawkins joins high court, The Texas Tribune (2025)
• New Texas Supreme Court Justices Take Oath Under Alito’s Watch, Bloomberg Law (2026)

Endorsements:

• Gov. Greg Abbott
• Texas Civil Justice League, a group focused on electing judges who support restricting lawsuits against businesses

How to contact:

Website contact form

Campaign site

Kristen Hawkins

Democrat

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $301,668
• Raised between Jan. 1-June 30: $279,197

💰 Major donors this cycle:

• The West Law Firm – $35,000
• Muhammad Aziz, attorney at Abraham Watkins Nichols Agosto Aziz & Stogner – $10,000
• Marcus Spagnoletti, attorney at Spagnoletti Law Firm – $10,000
• Kherkher Garcia LLP, a Houston personal injury law firm – $10,000
• Robert Hillard and the Robert C. Hillard LLP – $6,500

Experience:

• Judge of the 11th District Court in Houston since 2017, where she led the court’s response to COVID-19 and has been appointed to oversee two multidistrict litigation proceedings, including the Astroworld lawsuits
• Previously ran her own private practice focused on Social Security disability claims
• Served as tax master, presiding over cases involving delinquent property taxes, for a swath of Harris County for five years

Political ideology:

• Hawkins, a Democrat, is running on her experience as a trial court judge. She said the high court could benefit from the perspectives of district judges, who are often tasked with implementing Supreme Court rulings and see their effects on parties, lawyers and judges. Hawkins is a strong believer in access to jury trials, and said appellate courts should be cautious in overturning jury verdicts.

In the news:

• For Texas’ highest courts, two Democratic races decided, one GOP race goes to runoff, The Texas Tribune (2026)
• History is Made as Texas’ Oldest Court Gets First Woman Judge, Law.com (2017)
• All of the Astroworld lawsuits will be handled by one Houston judge, a judicial board ruled, Houston Public Media (2021)

Endorsements:

• Bexar County Young Democrats
• Liberal Austin Democrats
• The Caucus, a Houston LGBTQ political group
• Texas AFL-CIO

How to contact:

[email protected]

Place 8

Campaign site

Brett Busby

Republican, incumbent

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $1.3 million
• Raised between Jan. 1-June 30: $580,995

💰 Major donors this cycle:

• Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC, the state’s leading advocacy group for limiting businesses’ legal liability – $25,000
• Vinson & Elkins Texas PAC, associated with the major Houston law firm – $25,000
• Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP Texas Committee, associated with the global law firm – $10,000
• Centerpoint Energy, Inc. PAC – $10,000
• Bracewell PAC – $10,000
• Texans for Life PAC (Spent money in support of the candidate. This may have been done without the candidate’s knowledge or consent.)

Experience:

• Appointed by Abbott to the Supreme Court in 2019
• Former justice on Texas’ 14th Court of Appeals in Houston from 2012 to 2018
• Former appellate attorney in private practice
• Clerked for Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice John Paul Stevens of the U.S. Supreme Court

Political ideology: Busby is a Republican who, before becoming a judge, worked with conservative legal groups like the Federalist Society, the Alliance Defending Freedom and First Liberty. Since joining the court, he has advocated for expanding access to legal services and civic education.

In the news:

• Texas can tax Velo oral nicotine products as tobacco, state Supreme Court rules, Denton Record-Chronicle (2026)
• TCEQ can withhold documents related to cancer-causing emissions for now, Texas Supreme Court rules, KERA News (2026)
• Gov. Greg Abbott appoints Brett Busby to Texas Supreme Court, The Texas Tribune (2019)
• Texas Senate confirms Brett Busby for Supreme Court post, The Texas Tribune (2019)

Endorsements:

• Gov. Greg Abbott
• Texas Civil Justice League, a group focused on electing judges who support restricting lawsuits against businesses
• Texas Alliance for Life, an anti-abortion group

How to contact:

[email protected]

Campaign site

Gisela Triana

Democrat

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $128,786
• Raised between Jan. 1-June 30: $9,425

💰 Major donors this year:

• FVF Law, an Austin personal injury law firm – $2,500
• Kirker Davis LLP, an Austin family law firm – $2,500
• McGinnis Lochridge, a Texas based law firm – $2,000
• Richardson Firm PLLC – $500
• Carlos Soltero, attorney at Maynard Nexsen – $500

Experience:

• Justice on Texas’ 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin since 2019
• Previously served as judge of the 200th District Court, taking office in 2005
• Justice of the peace and county court-at-law judge from 1994 to 2004

Political ideology: Triana is running as a Democrat. When she ran for the same seat in 2020, Triana said the all-Republican makeup of the court made it overly “result-oriented and beholden to special interests,” and criticized their rulings allowing evictions and debt collections to resume during COVID. 

In the news:

• Texas Democratic women trounce male opponents in judicial primary election, The Texas Tribune (2020)
• Editorial: Our Supreme Court picks in the Democratic primary, San Antonio Express-News (2020)
• Court says Ken Paxton’s case against Austin and Travis County for issuing New Year’s curfew is moot, dismisses case, The Texas Tribune (2021)
• In Democrats’ low-information judicial primaries, gender and ballot names may drive voters’ decision, The Texas Tribune (2020)

Endorsements:

• Liberal Austin Democrats
• University Democrats
• Texas AFL-CIO
• Panhandle Democrats

How to contact:

[email protected]

Disclosure: Kristen Hawkins, Planned Parenthood and Texas Civil Justice League have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune within the past five years. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in our journalism. Find a complete list of them and more information about our financial and disclosure policies here.