2020 Texas elections explained

Texas state elections in 2020 were held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Its primaries were held on March 3, 2020, with runoffs taking place on July 14.^[1]

In addition to the U.S. presidential race, Texas voters elected the Class II U.S. senator from Texas, one of three members of the Texas Railroad Commission, eight of 15 members of the Texas Board of Education, all of its seats to the House of Representatives, four of nine seats on the Supreme Court of Texas, three of nine seats on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, 21 of 80 seats on the Texas Appellate Courts, all of the seats of the Texas House of Representatives and 17 of 34 seats in the Texas State Senate.

To vote by mail, registered Texas voters had to request a ballot by October 23, 2020. After the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a bid to expand eligibility for requesting postal ballots,^[2] postal ballots were available only to voters over 65, those sick or disabled, those who were out of their county on election day, and those who were in jail (and otherwise eligible to vote), as defined by Texas law.^[3]

Federal

President of the United States

See main article: 2020 United States presidential election in Texas.

See also: 2020 Texas Democratic primary and 2020 Texas Republican primary.

Texas has 38 electoral votes in the Electoral College.

United States Class II Senate Seat

See main article: 2020 United States Senate election in Texas.

United States House of Representatives

See main article: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas.

There were 36 U.S. Representatives in Texas up for election in addition to six open seats.^[4]

Executive

Railroad Commissioner

Republican primary

Nominee

• Jim Wright, cattle rancher^[5]

Eliminated in primary

• Ryan Sitton, incumbent Railroad Commissioner

Primary results

Democratic primary

Nominee

• Chrysta Castañeda, oil and energy industry attorney^[6]

Eliminated in runoff

• Roberto Alonzo, former state representative (2003–2019)^[7]

Eliminated in primary

• Kelly Stone, environmental activist^[8]
• Mark Watson, attorney^[9]

Runoff results

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jim Wright (R)	Chrysta Castañeda (D)	Other	Undecided
YouGov/University of Houston	October 13–20, 2020	1,000 (LV)	± 3.1%		47%	38%	4%	11%
Data for Progress (D)	August 20–25, 2020	2,295 (LV)	± 2.0%		39%	33%	–	25%
Global Strategy Group (D)	August 11–13, 2020	700 (LV)	± 3.7%		37%	31%	8%	24%

Results

State Board of Education

eight of 15 seats of the Texas Board of Education were up for election. Before the election the composition of that board was:

Party		of seats
	Republican	10
	Democratic	5
Total		15

Member, District 1

General election

Member, District 5

General election

Member, District 6

General election

Member, District 8

General election

Member, District 9

General election

Member, District 10

General election

Member, District 14

General election

Member, District 15

General election

Judicial

Supreme Court of Texas

Chief Justice

Incumbent Chief Justice Nathan Hecht ran for re-election to his last term.

=Candidates

=

• Nathan Hecht, incumbent Chief Justice^[10]

=Results

=

=Candidates

=

• Amy Clark Meachum, Judge of the Travis County District Court (201st District)^[11]
• Jerry Zimmerer, Associate Justice of the Fourteenth Court of Appeals of Texas^[12]

=Results

=

=Polling

=

=Results

=

Place 6

Incumbent Justice Jane Bland was appointed by Governor Abbott in 2019 to replace Jeff Brown. Justice Bland ran to finish the remainder of Brown's term ending in 2024.

=Candidates

=

• Jane Bland, incumbent Associate Justice^[13]

=Results

=

=Candidates

=

• Kathy Cheng, civil and commercial litigation attorney^[14]
• Larry Praeger, family law attorney^[15]

=Results

=

=Polling

=

=Results

=

Place 7

Incumbent Justice Jeff Boyd ran for re-election to a second six-year term.

=Candidates

=

• Jeff Boyd, incumbent Associate Justice^[14]

=Results

=

=Candidates

=

• Brandy Voss, McAllen-based appellate attorney^[16]
• Staci Williams, Judge of the Dallas County District Court (101st District)^[17]

=Results

=

=Results

=

Place 8

Incumbent Justice Brett Busby ran for a full six-year term after being appointed by Governor Abbott in 2019 due to the retirement of Phil Johnson.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Brett Busby, incumbent Associate Justice^[18]

=Results

=

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Peter Kelly, Associate Justice of the First Court of Appeals of Texas^[14]
• Gisela Triana, Associate Justice of the Third Court of Appeals of Texas^[19]

=Results

=

General election

Results

Court of Criminal Appeals

Place 3

Incumbent Judge Bert Richardson ran for re-election to a second six-year term.

=Candidates

=

• Gina Parker, Waco-based criminal defense attorney, former Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation Commissioner^[20]
• Bert Richardson, incumbent judge^[20]

=Results

=

=Candidates

=

• William Pieratt Demond, constitutional rights attorney^[21]
• Elizabeth Davis Frizell, former Judge of the Dallas County Criminal District Court (2007–2017)^[21]
• Dan Wood, Terrell-based appellate attorney^[22]

=Results

=

=Polling

=

=Results

=

Place 4

Incumbent Judge Kevin Yeary ran for re-election to a second six-year term.

=Candidates

=

• Kevin Yeary, incumbent judge^[23]

=Results

=

=Candidates

=

• Tina Yoo Clinton, Judge of the Dallas County Criminal Court (No. 1)^[24]
• Steven Miears, Grapevine-based criminal appellate attorney^[24]

=Results

=

=Results

=

Place 9

Incumbent Judge David Newell ran for re-election to a second six-year term.

=Candidates

=

• David Newell, incumbent judge^[25]

=Results

=

=Candidates

=

• Brandon Birmingham, Judge of the Dallas County District Court (292nd District)^[26]

=Results

=

=Results

=

Legislature

All 150 seats of the Texas House of Representatives and 16 of 31 seats of the Texas State Senate were up for election.

Senate

See main article: 2020 Texas State Senate election. Before the election, the composition of the state senate was:

Party		of seats
	Republican	19
	Democratic	12
Total		31

After the election, the composition of the state senate was:

Party		of seats
	Republican	18
	Democratic	13
Total		31

House of Representatives

See main article: 2020 Texas House of Representatives election. Before and after the election, the composition of the state house was:

Party		of seats
	Republican	83
	Democratic	67
Total		150

See also

• Postal voting in the United States, 2020
• Bilingual elections requirement for Texas (per Voting Rights Act Amendments of 2006)

Notes

Partisan clients

External links

• Elections Division at the Texas Secretary of State official website
  • • • • Web site: League of Women Voters of Texas . (state affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
  • . (Guidance to help voters get to the polls; addresses transport, childcare, work, information challenges)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Texas elections, 2020. Ballotpedia . August 21, 2020 .
2. Web site: Ura. Alexa. 2020-06-26. U.S. Supreme Court declines Texas Democrats' request to allow all Texans to vote by mail. 2021-02-18. The Texas Tribune. en.
3. https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/voter/reqabbm.shtml Application for a Ballot by Mail
4. Web site: Live: Texas State Primary Election Results 2020. The New York Times . August 20, 2020 . June 29, 2020 .
5. Web site: Chapa . Sergio . Railroad Commission candidate may have had the Wright name . . March 5, 2020.
6. Web site: Svitek . Patrick . Dallas attorney Chrysta Castañeda to challenge Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton . . October 16, 2019.
7. Web site: Buchele . Mose . Meet The Two Democrats Who Want To Run For Railroad Commission . . July 1, 2020.
8. Web site: Voter Guide - Kelly Stone . The Dallas Morning News.
9. Web site: Price . Asher . Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton faces primary opponent . . February 17, 2020.
10. Web site: Morris . Angela . Chief Justice's Election Bid Puts Spotlight on Texas' Mandatory Judicial Retirement . law.com . January 6, 2020.
11. Web site: Autullo . Ryan . Travis district court Judge Clark Meachum eyes top spot on Texas Supreme Court . . October 2, 2019.
12. Web site: Platoff . Emma . Judge calls opponent “selfish” for wanting to “break barriers” as first elected female chief justice of Texas Supreme Court . . February 14, 2020.
13. Web site: Platoff . Emma . Gov. Greg Abbott selects former appeals court judge Jane Bland for Texas Supreme Court . . August 26, 2019.
14. Web site: Lindell . Chuck . Suddenly, Democrats flush with candidates for 2 top courts . . February 17, 2020.
15. Web site: We recommend Larry Praeger in Democratic primary for Supreme Court, Place 6 [Editorial] ]. . February 14, 2020.
16. Web site: Brandy Voss Seeks Place 7 on the Texas Supreme Court . Texas Border Business . July 15, 2019.
17. Web site: In the Democratic Primary for Texas Supreme Court Place 7, here’s our recommendation . January 24, 2020.
18. Web site: Voter Guide - Brett Busby . The Dallas Morning News.
19. Web site: Justice Gisela Triana announces run for Texas Supreme Court. . August 4, 2019.
20. Web site: Platoff . Emma . This judge refused to toss Rick Perry’s indictment. Now Perry is backing his opponent in Court of Criminal Appeals race. . . February 26, 2020.
21. Web site: Bingamon . Brant . Balancing the Scales of Justice on Texas’ Most Important Courts . . February 21, 2020.
22. Web site: Voter Guide - Dan Wood . The Dallas Morning News.
23. Web site: Voter Guide - Kevin Patrick Yeary . The Dallas Morning News.
24. Web site: In the Democratic primary for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 4, here’s our recommendation . . January 23, 2020.
25. Web site: Voter Guide - David Newell . The Dallas Morning News.
26. Web site: Voter Guide - Brandon Birmingham . The Dallas Morning News.