Add updated info for Brown, Boyd and Johnson seats after primary. Add voter turnout info.
← Older revision
Revision as of 22:37, 5 March 2014
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:* Four [[Texas Supreme Court|supreme court]] seats are up for election in 2014.
:* Four [[Texas Supreme Court|supreme court]] seats are up for election in 2014.
:* Incumbents for all four seats will compete in the general election.
:* Incumbents for all four seats will compete in the general election.
−
:* Chief justice Nathan Hecht
, who was appointed chief
in
late 2013,
faces
3 challengers
.
+
:* Chief justice Nathan Hecht
beat his [[Republican]] challenger
in
the primary. He
faces
two opponents in the general election
.
:* The Libertarian party has four candidates running for seats on the court, and the Green Party has two candidates on the ballot for seats on the court.
:* The Libertarian party has four candidates running for seats on the court, and the Green Party has two candidates on the ballot for seats on the court.
| [[File:Supreme-Court-Elections-badge.png|150px|right|link=Texas judicial elections, 2014]]
| [[File:Supreme-Court-Elections-badge.png|150px|right|link=Texas judicial elections, 2014]]
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Hecht has had just a few months to get settled in as the new chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Former chief justice [[Wallace B. Jefferson]] retired October 1, 2013, and Governor {{BP|Rick Perry}} appointed Hecht as chief justice. He began serving the remainder of Wallace's term. Hecht has served on the state's highest civil court since he was elected in 1988. A judicial election veteran, Hecht has been re-elected four times. He is the longest serving justice on the court. Hecht is a registered Republican.<ref>[http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20130910-nathan-hecht-appointed-next-chief-justice-of-texas-supreme-court.ece ''Dallas News'', "Nathan Hecht appointed next chief justice of Texas Supreme Court," September 10, 2013]</ref>
Hecht has had just a few months to get settled in as the new chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Former chief justice [[Wallace B. Jefferson]] retired October 1, 2013, and Governor {{BP|Rick Perry}} appointed Hecht as chief justice. He began serving the remainder of Wallace's term. Hecht has served on the state's highest civil court since he was elected in 1988. A judicial election veteran, Hecht has been re-elected four times. He is the longest serving justice on the court. Hecht is a registered Republican.<ref>[http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20130910-nathan-hecht-appointed-next-chief-justice-of-texas-supreme-court.ece ''Dallas News'', "Nathan Hecht appointed next chief justice of Texas Supreme Court," September 10, 2013]</ref>
−
Hecht won the [[Republican]] primary with 60.48% of the vote. Challenger [[Robert Talton]] earned 39.58% of the votes cast in the primary.<ref>[https://team1.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/mar04_169_state.htm ''Office of the Secretary of State'', "2014 Republican Party Primary Election
+
Hecht won the [[Republican]] primary with 60.48% of the vote. Challenger [[Robert Talton]] earned 39.58% of the votes cast in the primary.<ref
name="primary results"
>[https://team1.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/mar04_169_state.htm ''Office of the Secretary of State'', "2014 Republican Party Primary Election
Election Night Returns, Unofficial Results," March 4, 2014]</ref> Hecht will go on to face two other candidates in the general election. [[Democratic]] candidate, [[Bill Moody]], and [[Tom Oxford]], a Libertarian are also running for the chief justice seat.<ref name=scotx>[http://www.scotxblog.com/elections/candidate-lists-for-the-2014-texas-supreme-court-elections/ ''Scotxblog'', "Candidate lists for the 2014 Texas Supreme Court elections," December 10, 2013]</ref>
Election Night Returns, Unofficial Results," March 4, 2014]</ref> Hecht will go on to face two other candidates in the general election. [[Democratic]] candidate, [[Bill Moody]], and [[Tom Oxford]], a Libertarian are also running for the chief justice seat.<ref name=scotx>[http://www.scotxblog.com/elections/candidate-lists-for-the-2014-texas-supreme-court-elections/ ''Scotxblog'', "Candidate lists for the 2014 Texas Supreme Court elections," December 10, 2013]</ref>
===Brown seat (Place 6)===
===Brown seat (Place 6)===
−
[[Jeff Brown]]'s time on the court has been brief. He was appointed to the bench on September 26, 2013 to fill the remainder of Hecht's term after he was elevated to the chief justice seat. Brown served 6 years on the district court and 6 years on the court of appeals before being appointed to the supreme court by Governor [[Rick Perry]].<ref name=scotx/>
+
[[Jeff Brown]]'s time on the court has been brief. He was appointed to the bench on September 26, 2013 to fill the remainder of Hecht's term after he was elevated to the chief justice seat. Brown served 6 years on the district court and 6 years on the court of appeals before being appointed to the supreme court by Governor [[Rick Perry]].<ref name=scotx
/> Brown garnered 71.91% of the vote to win the [[Republican]] primary.<ref name="primary results"
/>
−
[[Joe Pool, Jr.]], a GOP challenger who ran for a seat on the court in 2012,
will be running against Brown in
the primary. Meanwhile, [[Mark Ash]], a Libertarian candidate and [[Lawrence Meyers]], who is currently serving on the [[Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
|court of criminal appeals
]],<ref name=scotx/> will face off against
the winner of the Republican primary during
the general election. Meyers made headlines when he
recently
switched parties and filed as a [[Democratic]] candidate.
+
[[Joe Pool, Jr.]], a GOP challenger who ran for a seat on the court in 2012,
is out of
the
race after this year's
primary.
Pool earned just 28.08% of the vote in the 2014 contest for incumbent Jeff Brown's seat.<ref name="primary results"/>
Meanwhile, [[Mark Ash]], a Libertarian candidate and [[Lawrence Meyers]], who is currently serving on the [[Texas Court of Criminal Appeals]],<ref name=scotx/> will face off against
Brown in
the general election. Meyers made headlines when he switched parties and filed as a [[Democratic]] candidate.
===Boyd seat (Place 7)===
===Boyd seat (Place 7)===
−
[[Jeffrey S. Boyd]] has served on the supreme court since 2012. He
faces
no [[Republican]] challengers during the primary. During the general election, he will go up against [[Gina Benavides]], a Democrat, Libertarian [[Don Fulton]] and [[Charles E. Waterbury]], a Green Party candidate.<ref name=scotx/>
+
[[Jeffrey S. Boyd]] has served on the supreme court since 2012. He
faced
no [[Republican]] challengers during the
primary and earned 100% of the votes cast during the [[Republican]]
primary.
<ref name="primary results"/>
During the general election, he will go up against [[Gina Benavides]], a Democrat, Libertarian [[Don Fulton]] and [[Charles E. Waterbury]], a Green Party candidate.<ref name=scotx/>
===Johnson seat (Place 8)===
===Johnson seat (Place 8)===
−
A primary race is in
Justice [[Phil Johnson]]'s
future
.
He'll face [[
Republican
]]
challenger [[Sharon McCally]].
The winner
will
run
against [[RS Roberto Koelsch]] (Libertarian) and [[Jim Chisholm]] (Green Party) in the general election.
+
Justice [[Phil Johnson]]'s
racked up 64
.
02 percent of the votes in the
Republican
primary race for his seat, beating out
challenger [[Sharon McCally]]
who earned just 35
.
97% of the votes.<ref name="primary results"/> Johnson
will
compete
against [[RS Roberto Koelsch]] (Libertarian) and [[Jim Chisholm]] (Green Party) in the general election.
+
+
==Voter turnout for 2014 primaries==
+
Groups such as the Texas Civil Justice League and the former Chief Justice of the [[Texas Supreme Court]], [[Wallace B. Jefferson]], are working to increase voter participation in judicial elections, especially for the state's high courts.
+
+
Votes cast for the four seats on the [[Texas Supreme Court]] remained slightly lower than votes cast in other statewide races during the 2014 primary. As an example, tatewide, 9.80% of registered voters cast ballots in the [[Republican]] primary race for Governor on March 4, 2014.<ref name="primary results"/>
+
+
'''2014 Statewide voter turnout percentages - Republican primary races for state supreme court:'''
+
:* Hecht seat: 8.60% of registered voters
+
:* Brown seat: 8.38% of registered voters
+
:* Boyd seat: 7.33% of registered voters
+
:* Johnson seat: 8.39% of registered voters<ref name="primary results"/>
=Criminal=
=Criminal=