A rush of nontraditional primary voters wiped out six Democratic judges in the March primary, while a seventh incumbent, Judge Cesar Garcia in County Court at Law No. 10, was pushed to a runoff from his three-way race.
On Tuesday, Democrats’ voting patterns seemed to return to normal for the primary runoff.
Meanwhile, Republicans were still eager to root out moderates across the board, including a race to fill Judge Bert Richardson’s seat on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
In a Democratic primary runoff with far lower turnout and fewer exciting races than the March primary, Garcia held off challenger Shannon Roberta Salmón to keep his County Court at Law No. 10 seat.
He did so with a resounding 64.8% of the vote, and does not have a Republican opponent in November.
Garcia did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Paxton ally chosen for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
In the GOP’s runoff for a seat on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Republicans chose Thomas Smith, a longtime staffer to Attorney General Ken Paxton in both the AG’s office and Paxton’s state Senate office before that.
The state’s highest criminal court became a major target of the right after its 2022 decision denying Paxton broad authority to prosecute election fraud.
In 2024 three incumbent Republicans who signed that decision were swept out in the primary — and this year the two of the remaining judges who were up for reelection opted not to run.
Richardson is instead seeking a position on a lower court, where he did not face a GOP opponent in the primary.
Still, Smith faced opposition from Alison Fox, a research attorney on the court whose boss, Judge Jesse McClure, authored the opinion that offended Paxton.
Fox said it was a “scary time” after that decision, because her boss received death threats from fellow Republican. But she said she was running this year to preserve the integrity of the state’s supreme criminal court, which she said still “deserves experienced practitioners.”
Smith has never practiced criminal law in Texas, but said on social media that he was running because he was tired of the court electing “political chameleons.” He blamed the court for stripping power from Paxton’s office, and linked Fox to the decision authored by her boss.
Republicans have controlled every statewide bench seat for many years, but the winner will face Democrat Okey Anyiam in November.
New faces for Bexar County courts
Of the six Democrats who upset incumbent judges in the primary, one of them, Alicia Perez, will be sworn in to her new position on Wednesday.
Perez defeated then-Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez for the Democratic nomination in County Court at Law No. 13 in March. County Commissioners are now appointing her to take over early after Speedlin Gonzalez resigned to avoid punishment from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
A second insurgent Democrat, Audrey Martinez, faced a lawsuit from the incumbent she beat in the primary for Court at Law No. 14, Judge Carlo Rodriguez Key.
Key alleged that Martinez doesn’t meet the eligibility requirements because she doesn’t live in Bexar County — giving ousted judges hope that one of them might be able to return if Democratic precinct chairs had to select a replacement.
This month Martinez was cleared for the November ballot, however, after a judge dismissed Key’s case.
Key will remain in the role until the end of his term.
Martinez, who doesn’t have a Republican opponent in November, told the Report she was “grateful this matter is now behind me.”
