It is spookily quiet around the Texas capitol—the ghosts of dead bills from past legislative sessions are all that roam the hallways. (Those are not to be confused with zombie bills that never die and walk among the living during the legislative session hoping to become law one day.) It is as though everyone is out campaigning during an election season that will mercifully end next week. We will have a newsletter out again next week summarizing the election results that most directly affect prosecutors. For now, let’s quickly preview the upcoming contested elections and future trainings.
Elections
If you are looking for a refresher on all the races we are watching, please see our 2026 Primary Election Results. We updated the runoff races below, and these are the contested races we will follow on election night.
Bexar County Criminal District Attorney
Ashley Foster (Republican)
Luz Elena Chapa (Democrat)
Jason Wolff (Independent)
Brazoria County Criminal District Attorney
Tom Selleck (Republican)
Bianca Santorini (Democrat)
Fort Bend County District Attorney
Shawn McDonald (Republican)
Brian Middleton (Democrat)
Harris County Attorney
Jacqueline Lucci Smith (Republican)
Abbie Kamin (Democrat)
Hays County Criminal District Attorney
Alfonso Salazar (Democrat)
Kirsta Melton (Independent)
Hidalgo County Criminal District Attorney
Lydia Elizondo (Republican)
Terry Palacios (Democrat)
Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney
Phil Sorrells (Republican)
Tiffany Burks (Democrat)
Texas Supreme Court
Chief Justice
Jimmy Blacklock (Incumbent/Appointed Chief/Republican)
Cory L. Carlyle (Democrat)
Place 2
James P. Sullivan (Incumbent/Appointed/Republican)
Chari L. Kelly (Democrat
Place 7
Kyle D. Hawkins (Incumbent/Appointed/Republican)
Kristen Hawkins (Democrat)
Place 8
J. Brett Busby (Incumbent Republican)
Gisela D. Triana (Democrat)
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Place 3
Thomas Smith (Republican runoff winner)
Okey Anyiam (Democrat)
Place 4
Kevin Yeary (Incumbent Republican)
Audra Riley (Democrat)
Place 9
John Messinger (Republican)
Holly Taylor (Democrat)
Elected Prosecutor Conference—December 2026
TDCAA’s Elected Prosecutor Conference is built to address the unique training needs of our county and district attorney members. This year’s conference will include sessions on productive public engagement, responsible AI adoption, and resources for prosecutors in crisis. The Elected Prosecutor Conference will be held at Texas A&M Hotel & Conference Center in College Station. Our Annual Business Meeting will be held in conjunction with the conference, and it is where we elect the new board members for 2027. Check out our website for updates.
Prosecutor Trial Skills Course–January 2027
Anyone who is new to a prosecutor’s office should attend our Prosecutor Trial Skills Course. It’s a full week of intensive training that prepares new prosecutors for their work both in the courtroom and out. Seasoned faculty advisors are assigned to small groups of attendees to answer questions and direct discussions at each table. Jury selection and opening statement training is demonstrated by some of the best prosecutors from across the state. New prosecutors won’t want to miss this intensive, high-quality training customized especially for them. Make sure to alert all the new prosecutors in your offices about this great training opportunity!
Quotes
“If Lubbock doesn’t vote, if Amarillo doesn’t vote, if all the other great cities and counties do not vote, Travis County gets to decide what our state is all about. Austin is the craziest, most blue progressive place there is.”
—House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) rallying the people at a rally for President Trump in Lubbock.
“So if you go out and vote, we’re gonna have a tremendous win in Texas. You cannot have a guy like Talafreako, because he’s not even Christian. We can’t lose the votes.”
—President Donald J. Trump speaking to the attendees at his rally in Lubbock.
“I know that we’re not the only show in town tonight, and I appreciate all 4,000 of you who showed up here this evening. That’s a lot of Talafreakos in one room.”
—State Representative and U.S. Senate Candidate James Talarico addressing the attendees at his own competing Lubbock rally.