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2022 State Judicial Elections
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Texas is one of two states with two courts of last resort. TheTexas Supreme Court is the state'scourt of last resort for civil matters. The terms of three supreme court justices expired on December 31, 2022. TheTexas Court of Criminal Appeals is the state'scourt of last resort for criminal matters. The terms of three court of criminal appeals justices expired on December 31, 2022. All six seats were up forpartisan election on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for March 1, 2022.

Texas was one of 30 states that held elections for state supreme court in 2022. That year, 84 of the 344 seats on state supreme courts were up for election. Of those, 64 were held by nonpartisan justices, 13 were held by Republican justices, and eight were held by Democratic justices. For more on the partisan affiliation of state supreme court justices, clickhere. For an overview of state supreme court elections in 2022, clickhere.

Candidates and election results

Texas Supreme Court

Place 3

General election

General election for Texas Supreme Court Place 3

IncumbentDebra Lehrmann defeatedErin Nowell andTom Oxford in the general election for Texas Supreme Court Place 3 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debra Lehrmann (R)	56.2	4,475,136
		Erin Nowell (D)	41.8	3,330,529
		Tom Oxford (L)	2.0	162,036

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,967,701
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 3

Erin Nowell advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 3 on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Erin Nowell	100.0	914,184

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 914,184
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 3

IncumbentDebra Lehrmann advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 3 on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debra Lehrmann	100.0	1,535,581

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,535,581
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Texas Supreme Court Place 3

Tom Oxford advanced from the Libertarian convention for Texas Supreme Court Place 3 on April 10, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Tom Oxford (L)

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Place 5

General election

General election for Texas Supreme Court Place 5

IncumbentRebeca Huddle defeatedAmanda Reichek in the general election for Texas Supreme Court Place 5 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rebeca Huddle (R)	57.1	4,530,668
		Amanda Reichek (D)	42.9	3,406,054

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,936,722
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 5

Amanda Reichek advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 5 on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Amanda Reichek	100.0	913,836

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 913,836
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 5

IncumbentRebeca Huddle advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 5 on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rebeca Huddle	100.0	1,519,069

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,519,069
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Place 9

General election

Special general election for Texas Supreme Court Place 9

IncumbentEvan Young defeatedJulia Maldonado in the special general election for Texas Supreme Court Place 9 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Evan Young (R)	56.4	4,474,900
		Julia Maldonado (D)	43.6	3,458,103

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,933,003
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Special Democratic primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 9

Julia Maldonado advanced from the special Democratic primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 9 on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Julia Maldonado	100.0	922,595

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 922,595
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Special Republican primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 9

IncumbentEvan Young defeatedDavid Schenck in the special Republican primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 9 on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Evan Young	54.9	860,852
		David Schenck	45.1	708,359

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,569,211
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

Place 2

General election

The general election was canceled. IncumbentMary Lou Keel won election in the general election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 2.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 2

IncumbentMary Lou Keel advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 2 on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mary Lou Keel	100.0	1,485,583

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,485,583
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Place 5

General election

General election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 5

IncumbentScott Walker defeatedDana Huffman in the general election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 5 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Scott Walker (R)	56.9	4,513,500
		Dana Huffman (D)	43.1	3,413,071

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,926,571
= candidate completed theBallotpedia 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 Court of Criminal Appeals Place 5

Dana Huffman advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 5 on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dana Huffman	100.0	911,472

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 911,472
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 5

IncumbentScott Walker defeatedClint Morgan in the Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 5 on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Scott Walker	56.6	884,160
		Clint Morgan	43.4	677,504

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,561,664
= candidate completed theBallotpedia 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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Place 6

General election

General election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 6

IncumbentJesse McClure defeatedRobert Johnson in the general election for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 6 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jesse McClure (R)	57.2	4,526,307
		Robert Johnson (D)	42.8	3,383,705

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,910,012
= candidate completed theBallotpedia 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 Court of Criminal Appeals Place 6

Robert Johnson advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 6 on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robert Johnson	100.0	906,119

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 906,119
= candidate completed theBallotpedia 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 Court of Criminal Appeals Place 6

IncumbentJesse McClure advanced from the Republican primary for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 6 on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jesse McClure	100.0	1,474,886

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,474,886
= candidate completed theBallotpedia 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.

Voting information

See also:Voting in Texas

Campaign finance

The section below contains data from financial reports submitted to state agencies. To view data for each court, click on the appropriate bar below to expand it. The data is gathered and made available byTransparency USA.

• Texas Supreme Court (click to expand)

  Place 3

  General election

  Democratic primary

  Republican primary

  Libertarian primary

  Place 5

  General election

  Democratic primary

  Republican primary

  Place 9

  General election

  Democratic primary

  Republican primary

• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (click to expand)

  Place 2

  General election

  Republican primary

  Place 5

  General election

  Democratic primary

  Republican primary

  Place 6

  General election

  Democratic primary

  Republican primary

About the Texas Supreme Court

See also:Texas Supreme Court

The Texas Supreme Court is the highest court in the state ofTexas for civil matters. As thecourt of last resort, the supreme court hears appeals of decisions in civil cases from lower courts. Its decisions are not subject to review by any other court.^[1]

Political composition

This was the political composition of the supreme court heading into the 2022 election. Justices on theTexas Supreme Court are elected to their seats, and replacements are appointed by the governor in the case of midterm vacancies.

About the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

See also:Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is thecourt of last resort for all criminal matters inTexas.

Political composition of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

This was the political composition of the court heading into the 2022 election. Judges on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals are elected to their seats, and replacements are appointed by the governor in the case of midterm vacancies.

Selection

See also:Partisan elections

The nine justices of thesupreme court and nine judges of thecourt of criminal appeals are selected inpartisan elections. The elected justices and judges serve six-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to continue serving. In the event of a midterm vacancy, thegovernor appoints a replacement until the next general election, in which he or she may compete to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term. If the legislature is in session when the appointment is made, theTexas State Senate must confirm the appointee. If the legislature is not in session, the appointee does not require state Senate confirmation.^[2][3]

Qualifications

To serve on either court, a justice or judge must be:

• a U.S. citizen;
• a resident ofTexas;
• 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.^[4]

While no judge older than 74 may run for office, sitting judges who turn 75 are permitted to continue serving until their terms expire.^[4]

Selection of the chief justice or judge

Thechief justice orjudge of each court is selected by voters at large. He or she serves in that capacity for a full six-year term.^[4]

Analysis

Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters (2021)

See also:Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters

In 2020, Ballotpedia publishedBallotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters, a study on how state supreme court justices decided the cases that came before them. Our goal was to determine which justices ruled together most often, which frequently dissented, and which courts featured the most unanimous or contentious decisions.

The study tracked the position taken by each state supreme court justice in every case they decided in 2020, then tallied the number of times the justices on the court ruled together. We identified the following types of justices:

• We considered two justicesopinion partners if they frequently concurred or dissented together throughout the year.
• We considered justices adissenting minority if they frequently opposed decisions together as a -1 minority.
• We considered a group of justices adetermining majority if they frequently determined cases by a +1 majority throughout the year.
• We considered a justice alone dissenter if he or she frequently dissented alone in cases throughout the year.

Summary of cases decided in 2020

• Number of justices: 9
• Number of cases: 90
• Percentage of cases with a unanimous ruling: 82.2% (74)
• Justice most often writing the majority opinion: Justices Bland and Busby (10 each)
• Per curiam decisions: 28
• Concurring opinions: 11
• Justice with most concurring opinions: Justices Guzman and Blacklock (3 each)
• Dissenting opinions: 17
• Justice with most dissenting opinions: Justice Boyd (6)

For the study's full set of findings in Texas, clickhere.

Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)

See also:Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship

Last updated: June 15, 2020

In 2020, Ballotpedia publishedBallotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.

The study presentedConfidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation, based on a variety of factors. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on the political or ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. To arrive at confidence scores we analyzed each justice's past partisan activity by collecting data on campaign finance, past political positions, party registration history, as well as other factors. The five categories ofConfidence Scores were:

• Strong Democrat
• Mild Democrat
• Indeterminate^[5]
• Mild Republican
• Strong Republican

We used the Confidence Scores of each justice to develop a Court Balance Score, which attempted to show the balance among justices with Democratic, Republican, and Indeterminate Confidence Scores on a court. Courts with higher positive Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Republican Confidence Scores, while courts with lower negative Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Democratic Confidence Scores. Courts closest to zero either had justices with conflicting partisanship or justices with Indeterminate Confidence Scores.^[6]

Texas had a Court Balance Score of10.4, indicatingRepublican control of the court. In total, the study found that there were 15 states with Democrat-controlled courts, 27 states with Republican-controlled courts, and eight states with Split courts. The map below shows the court balance score of each state.

See also

Texas	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in TexasTexas Courts of AppealsTexas Court of Criminal AppealsTexas Supreme Court	Elections:2026 •2025 •2024 •2023 •2022 •2021 •2020 •2019 •2018 •2017Gubernatorial appointmentsJudicial selection in Texas	Federal courtsState courtsLocal courts

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Texas Supreme Court

Footnotes

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