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District 457

Jurisdiction: Montgomery, 

 District Level Judicial Candidates

I and J Counties

Chart of Texas Judicial Department
https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1452920/court-structure-chart-september-2021.pdf

Brochure of the Court System

https://www.txcourts.gov/media/675444/The-Texas-Judicial-System_Print102714.pdf

District Courts

Irion County (20,617 Population)

District 51​Unopposed. Up for re-election in 2026

Appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott

Jurisdiction: Coke, Irion, Schleicher, Sterling and Tom Green 

Jack County (8,472 Population)

District 271 up for election in 2026

Jurisdiction: Jack, Wise

Jackson County (14,988 Population)

District 24 Unopposed. Up for re-election in 2024

Jurisdiction: Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Refugio, and Victoria

District 135 Unopposed. Up for re-election in 2024

Jurisdiction: Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Refugio, and Victoria

District 267 up for re-election in 2024

Appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott

Jurisdiction: Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Refugio, and Victoria

Jasper County (32,980 Population)

District 1 Unopposed. Expires 2024

Jurisdiction: Jasper, Newton, Sabine, San Augustine

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District 1-A expires 2026

Jurisdiction: Jasper, Newton, Tyler

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Jeff Davis County (1,996 Population)

District 394 up for election in 2024

Jurisdiction: Jefferson

Jefferson County (256,526 Population)

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District 58 Judge W. Kent Walston (IN) up for election in 202 B.B.A. from Lamar University, going on to receive his J.D. from Baylor University. Prior to his election to the 58th District Court, Walston was a municipal court judge for the City of Nederland. He previously worked as an attorney in private practice in Jefferson County and gained over nine years of experience in law enforcement. His areas of practice have been Construction Litigation, Employment, Contracts, Business, Criminal, Family,

Real Estate, Wills-Trusts-Probate, Juvenile, Consumer, and Litigation: Commercial

Jurisdiction: Jefferson

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District 60 Judge Justin Sanderson Unopposed. Up for election in 2024.J.D. Texas Tech University School of Law. After graduating he opened is own private Law practice. He specialized in commercial, wills, trusts,  probate and Social Security Litigation. He then ran for District 60 to succeed his father in that position. 

Source: https://trellis.law/judge/justin.g.sanderson

Jurisdiction: Jefferson

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District 136 Judge Baylor Wortham Unopposed. Up for election in 2024. Baylor University, B A in information technology. Baylor Law School where he earned a J.D. degree in General Civil Litigation. While in law school, Baylor was a member of the Baylor Law Review, where he served as Senior Technology Editor.  Afterward, Baylor returned to Beaumont where he started his law career in April 2006 as an Assistant District Attorney with the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office. Over the course of his tenure with the DA’s office, Baylor served as the chief prosecutor for Judge John Paul Davis in County Court at Law #3 as well as Judge Lupe Flores in County Court at Law #2. In 2009, Baylor was appointed as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas where he was tasked with combating violent crime in Port Arthur, Texas. In 2011, Baylor successfully prosecuted several ranking members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas prison gang for their involvement in a 2009 shooting of a Nederland man. In December 2012, Baylor was elevated to the position of Assistant United States Attorney, where he prosecuted organized crime and complex drug trafficking cases involving the Mexican Drug Cartels. In 2015, Baylor assisted in the prosecution and conviction of Juan Francisco Saenz-Tamez, the former head of the Mexican Gulf Cartel. Over the course of his legal career, Baylor has been extremely active in his service to the State Bar. Baylor has continuously served on board of directors for the Texas Young Lawyer’s association since 2010 and also the Jefferson County Young Lawyer’s Association since 2008. While on the TYLA board, Baylor co-chaired the TYLA project “Slavery out of the Shadows: A Spotlight on Human Trafficking” and is currently co-chairing the 2015 TYLA project “And Justice for All – Preventing Wrongful Convictions Through Education.” Baylor has also authored over half a dozen bar publications, including, “Criminal Law 101: An Overview of the Federal Criminal Process,” “Answering the Call: Responding to a Texas Criminal Subpoena,” “Employer’s Guide to Hiring an Employee with a Record,” “Hiring a Non-Citizen Household Staff,” “Understanding Employment Contracts in Texas,” and co-authored “Breathe Free – A Guide to Immigration.” In June 2015, he received the President’s Award of Merit from the Texas Young Lawyer’s Association. Currently, Baylor serves as the District 25 Representative to the American Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Division, as the ABA YLD lesion to the Texas Young Lawyer’s Association, and is the Vice President of the Jefferson County Young Lawyer’s Association.

Source: http://baylorwortham.com/about-baylor-wortham/

Jurisdiction: Jefferson

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District 172 up for election in 2026

Jurisdiction: Jefferson

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District 252 Judge Raquel West  (IN) up for election in 2026.  B.A. in English (minoring in French) from Texas A&M University. She went on to receive a J.D. from St. Mary's School of Law in San Antonio, TexasWest has eighteen years of experience as a private practice attorney, focusing primarily on criminal and family law.

Source: https://ballotpedia.org/Raquel_West

Jurisdiction: Jefferson

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District 279  Judge Randy Shelton (IN) up for election in 202Bachelor's Sam Houston State University and J.D.South Texas College of Law. Judge Randy Shelton was elected to the 279th District Court in 2006. Judge Shelton has been licensed to practice law in Texas after graduating from South Texas College of Law in 1989. He received the Michelle F. Mehaffy Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year Award in 1998. In 2012, Judge Shelton was the recipient of the Family Services of Southeast Texas Family Advocates of the Year, and the Texas CASA Big Voices for Little Texans Judge of the Year award. Judge Shelton received a Family Jurisprudence Certification from the Texas College of the Judiciary in 2014 and is board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Family Law (1998) and Child Welfare Law (2019). 

Source: https://texaschildrenscommission.gov/about-us/commissioners/the-honorable-randy-shelton/

Jurisdiction: Jefferson

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District 317 up for election in 2026. 

Jurisdiction: Jefferson

Jim Hogg County (4,838 Population)

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District 229 Judge Baldemar “Balde” Garza (IN) up for re-election in 2026. Bachelors Texas A & M University and her J.D. from St. Mary's University of San Antonio. Garza is an attorney at the firm of Ramirez & Garza, L.L.P. Practice Areas: Business, Litigation: Commercial, Oil, Gas and Energy Resources, Real Estate, Mediation, Contracts Source: https://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Find_A_Lawyer&template=/Customsource/MemberDirectory/MemberDirectoryDetail.cfm&ContactID=168688

Jurisdiction: Duval, Jim Hogg, Starr

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Jim Wells County (38,891 Population)

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District 79​ Michael V. Garcia Unopposed

Currently County Court at Law Judge for Jim Wells County

Source: https://www.co.jim-wells.tx.us/page/co.county.court.at.law.judge

Jurisdiction: Brooks and Jim Wells 

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Johnson County (179,927 Population)

District 18 Unopposed. Up for election in 2026

Jurisdiction: Johnson, Somervell

District 249 up for election in 2026.

Appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott

Jurisdiction: Johnson, Somervell, Williamson

District 413 Unopposed. Up for election in 2024.

Jurisdiction: Johnson

Jones County (19,663 Population)

District 259 Judge Brooks Hagler (IN) up for election in 2026. Hagler received his undergraduate degree from Texas A & M University and his J.D. from Baylor University.

​Source: https://www.shackelfordcounty.org/page/shackelford.259th

Jurisdiction: Jones, Shackelford

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