Seats on the highest courts in Texas — the state Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeals and the newer 15th Court of Appeals — are up for grabs in this year's midterm election. Texas voters will choose which jurists sit on courts that shape state law on issues like child welfare, death sentences and elections themselves.
All members of these courts are elected statewide in partisan races. Judges appointed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott currently hold seven of the 10 seats up for election across all three courts.
Democrats are looking to regain ground in the courts, which have been Republican strongholds for decades.
Texas Supreme Court
The Texas Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort in civil matters. It handles cases involving child custody, divorce, constitutional challenges to state laws, wrongful death lawsuits and other issues via appeals from lower courts.
The court has nine justices who serve staggered six-year terms. There's no term limit for these positions.
Those appointed to their seats by the governor are required to run for official election to their position in the following election cycle. This year, those candidates are incumbent justices James "Jimmy" Blacklock, James Sullivan and Kyle Hawkins.
The court has made important rulings on hot-button issues, such as the criminalization of delta-8 THC, abortion access, gay marriage and gender-affirming care.
Chief Justice
Jimmy Blacklock (R, incumbent)
Appointed to the court in 2018 and named chief justice in 2025, Blacklock previously served as Abbott's general counsel and as an attorney in the Texas Attorney General's Office. He's argued cases involving religious liberty, federalism and election law, and has authored more than 100 opinions on the court. Blacklock describes his judicial philosophy as grounded in interpreting statutes and the state constitution according to their text and original meaning.
Maggie Ellis (D)
Ellis serves on Austin's Third Court of Appeals and is board certified in juvenile law. With more than 15 years in legal practice, she has worked as a prosecutor, administrative law judge and trial attorney handling civil, juvenile and family cases. She is the first openly LGBTQ+ woman ever elected to a Texas appellate court.
Justice, Place 2
James Sullivan (R, incumbent)
Appointed to the Texas Supreme Court in 2025, Sullivan previously served as Abbott's general counsel. Earlier in his career, he clerked in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C., Circuit and worked in the Texas Attorney General's Office and private practice. He has also taught as an adjunct professor.
Chari Kelly (D)
Kelly serves on the Third Court of Appeals in Austin, where she has been on the bench since 2019. A U.S. Army veteran and former Judge Advocate General officer, she has ruled on cases involving public health, environmental issues and criminal justice. Before joining the court, she worked on litigation for the state and taught trial advocacy at the University of Texas School of Law.
Justice, Place 7
Kyle Hawkins (R, incumbent)
Appointed to the court in 2025, Hawkins previously served as Texas solicitor general and as counselor to the U.S. solicitor general under President Donald Trump. He has argued multiple cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and previously clerked for Justice Samuel Alito. Hawkins also worked in private appellate practice and taught at the University of Texas School of Law.
Kristen Hawkins (D)
Kristen Hawkins is a Harris County district court judge first elected in 2016. She has experience in civil litigation, including medical malpractice, construction and mass tort cases, and is double board certified in civil trial and personal injury law. She has chaired judicial committees in Harris County and received recognition for her work on complex litigation matters.
Justice, Place 8
Brett Busby (R, incumbent)
Appointed in 2019 and elected statewide in 2020, Busby previously served on the Texas Court of Appeals for six years. A former U.S. Supreme Court law clerk, he has argued cases before appellate courts across the country and has taught at the University of Texas School of Law.
Gisela Triana (D)
Triana serves on the Third Court of Appeals and previously spent more than two decades as a trial court judge in Travis County, presiding over both civil and criminal matters. She began her legal career as a prosecutor and has also worked in election law and private practice.
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
The Court of Criminal Appeals is Texas' highest court for criminal cases, including death penalty appeals.
The court has nine judges who serve staggered six-year terms. There's no term limit for these positions.
The court has weighed in on the ongoing appeal of Robert Roberson, who was convicted of murder after prosecutors successfully argued for his conviction in part with controversial "shaken baby syndrome" evidence.
The court also made an important ruling that found the Texas attorney general can not unilaterally prosecute voter fraud claims — a ruling that led Ken Paxton to back three judges who ousted incumbents in 2024.
The only judge who sided with Paxton in the voter fraud case was Kevin Patrick Yeary, who's also the only incumbent on the Court of Criminal Appeals ballot this year.
Judge, Place 3
Thomas Smith (R)
Smith works in the Texas Attorney General's Office and previously served as counsel to then Senator Ken Paxton. He began his career in private practice and clerked for a state supreme court justice in Ohio. His experience includes criminal justice and government litigation.
Okey Anylam (D)
Anyiam is a Dallas-based criminal defense attorney who has been licensed in Texas since the late 1990s.
Judge, Place 4
Kevin Patrick Yeary (R, incumbent)
Elected to the Court of Criminal Appeals in 2014, Yeary previously worked as an appellate prosecutor in several large Texas counties and served as a briefing attorney at the court early in his career. He has argued cases before the Texas Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Audra Riley (D)
Riley serves as judge of Dallas County Criminal District Court No. 3, a position she has held since January 2021. Her current term on that court runs through 2028. She earned her law degree from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law and has experience presiding over felony criminal cases in one of the state's largest counties.
Judge, Place 9
John Messinger (R)
Messinger works in the Office of the State Prosecuting Attorney and has filed more than 100 petitions for discretionary review with the Court of Criminal Appeals. He frequently speaks at statewide criminal law conferences and chairs a State Bar criminal jury charges committee.
Holly Taylor (D)
Taylor is a criminal appellate attorney and former prosecutor who most recently served in a leadership role in the Travis County District Attorney's Office, overseeing public integrity and complex crimes divisions. She is board certified in criminal appellate law and previously worked as a staff attorney at the Court of Criminal Appeals.
15th Court of Appeals
Created controversially by the Legislature in 2023, the 15th Court of Appeals has statewide jurisdiction over certain cases involving the state itself and business disputes.
The court has three justices who serve six-year terms.
This is the first year anyone on the Abbott-appointed court is up for election. The statewide jurisdiction of this intermediary court means it's touched on a number of notable cases in its short existence.
A Bloomberg Law analysis in July found the state wins the majority of contested cases the 15th Court of Appeals has decided. Most recently, the court sided with Abbott in a dispute with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa, pressing pause on a trial court judge's order requiring Abbott to let Hinojosa view emails between the incumbent governor and Elon Musk.
But the court has also dealt some blows to state officials, including striking down Paxton's rule requiring large-county district attorneys to send detailed reports to his office and the attorney general's failed attempt to overturn the State Fair of Texas' gun ban.
Chief Justice
Scott Brister (R, incumbent)
Appointed as the inaugural chief justice in 2024, Brister previously served on the Texas Supreme Court and on Houston-area appellate courts. He has presided over hundreds of trials and authored hundreds of appellate opinions. In private practice, he led appellate litigation at a large firm.
Jerry Zimmerer (D)
Zimmerer previously served on the 14th Court of Appeals in Houston before losing reelection in 2024. He has worked in private practice and in corporate legal roles, including with AT&T Mobility.
Justice, Place 2
Scott Field (R, incumbent)
Appointed to the 15th Court of Appeals in 2024, Field previously served on the Third Court of Appeals and as a district court judge in Williamson County. He has practiced commercial and appellate litigation and clerked at the Texas Supreme Court.
Tom Baker (D)
Baker is a former justice on the 5th Court of Appeals who lost reelection in 2024. A U.S. Navy veteran, he now works in private practice in Central Texas.
Justice, Place 3
April Farris (R, incumbent)
Farris was appointed to the 15th Court of Appeals in 2024 after serving on the 1st Court of Appeals. She previously worked as an assistant solicitor general for Texas and as a partner in private practice handling complex appellate litigation. She has received national recognition for her appellate work.
Marc M. Meyer (D)
Meyer is an attorney, registered nurse and retired Houston firefighter. He lives in Montgomery and has experience in both public service and private legal practice.
Additional reporting by KERA's Emmanuel Rivas Valenzuela.
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