Editor’s note: To help readers learn more about primary candidates, The Texas Tribune is sharing background information on top candidates. In particularly crowded races, we focused on candidates with political experience or demonstrably competitive campaigns, using benchmarks such as fundraising, endorsements and online presence. For a full list of candidates, view our primary ballot page. For more information on the primaries and the voting process, check out our guides and news coverage here.
About the elected seat: The Texas Supreme Court is the state’s highest civil court, the final arbiter of major issues of state law. Justices are elected to six-year terms in partisan elections, but if they step down before their term expires — as is often the case — the governor appoints their successor. Gov. Greg Abbott, a former member of the court, has appointed seven of the nine current justices. All of the current justices are Republicans; there has not been a Democrat elected to the bench since the 1990s.
