Texas State Capitol
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
Taffet@DallasVoice.com
EDITOR’S NOTE: The original version of this article inadvertently omitted two candidates — Richard Lozano and Katelyn Logie — running in the Democratic Primary race for Justice of the Peace, Precinct 5, Place 2. The other three candidates are Omar Narvaez, Marcos Soto and Andre Turner. The names of Lozano and Logie have been added within the text.
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling just days before the candidate filing deadline turned Texas elections upside down. The ruling allows Texas to use redrawn congressional district maps designed to put five additional Republicans into Congress.
Among the Democrats targeted in the redistricting battle that took place in the Texas Legislature was Rep. Julie Johnson, the first LGBTQ+ person elected to Congress from the South. Instead of trying to retake District 32, which has been redrawn to include a large swath of Republican East Texas, she filed to run for the newly-drawn District 33, which is entirely in Dallas County.
Facing Johnson in the primary is Colin Allred, who represented District 32 before Johnson. Instead of running for reelection to his seat in 2024, he ran for Senate against Ted Cruz. This year, he had been running for the Democratic nomination to face Sen. John Cornyn.
But when Rep. Jasmine Crockett was redistricted out of her own district and decided to run for the chance to face Cornyn, Allred dropped out of that race and filed to face Johnson.
Two other candidates will be on the primary ballot facing Johnson and Allred — Carlos Quintanilla and Zeeshan Hafeez. Normally that would indicate a runoff is likely, but in her bid for her current District 32 seat, Johnson won more than 50 percent of the vote with 10 other candidates on the ballot.
District 33 is currently represented by Marc Veasey. But his political base is in Tarrant County, and the new district is entirely in Dallas County. So the incumbent congressman decided initially to run for county judge but has since withdrawn his name from that race.
Statewide races
Meanwhile, in the race to challenge Cornyn, Crockett faces state Rep. James Talarico. Both are strong LGBTQ+ allies. Crockett spent much of her time in Washington this year fighting off anti-transgender legislation, and Talarico worked with the LGBTQ Caucus in Austin to fend off most of the anti-LGBTQ+ bills that were introduced.
And in the race for governor, a number of candidates have filed to challenge Abbott. Among them is Austin state Rep. Gina Hinojosa who was Johnson’s seatmate on the floor of the House during her last term in office. Former Gov. Mark White’s son Andrew is also running. He was last on the ballot in a Democratic runoff against Lupe Valdez. And Chris Bell, the Democratic nominee for governor in 2006, is on the ballot as well.
Texas Legislature
Of the 14 Dallas County seats in the Texas Legislature, only Venton Jones is being challenged in the Democratic primary. That may be because when Crockett filed for Senate, Jones was expected to run for her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is the first Texas legislator who is openly HIV-positive and was the first legislator to propose to his husband on the floor of the House.
In the primary, he’ll face Amanda Richardson and Justice McFarlane.
Jessica Gonzalez filed for re-election to her state House seat. The chair of the LGBTQ caucus is unopposed in the primary and in the general election.
State Sen. Molly Cook is running for re-election. She’s the first out lesbian to serve in the Texas Senate. All state representatives are up for re-election including LGBTQ+ reps Erin Zwiener, Mary Gonzalez, Ann Johnson, Jolanda Jones, Christian Manuel, Josie Garcia and Lauren Simmons as well as Dallas County’s Jessica Gonzalez and Venton Jones.
Dallas County
Damarcus L. Offord, who worked for Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, is running for Dallas County clerk. John Warren currently holds the position and has since 2007, filed and then withdrawn from his re-election race. Facing Offord are Ann Marie Cruz and Tony Grimes.
Ally Pauline Medrano is running for reelection as county treasurer. And for commissioners court, allies Elba Garcia and Andrew Sommerman are up for reelection, as is County Judge Clay Jenkins.
Tarrant County
Julya Billhymer, a Tarrant County attorney with 27 years’ experience in criminal defense and eight years’ experience law enforcement as a patrol sergeant, is running for judge of Tarrant County Criminal Court No. 5, a court designated to handle family violence cases.
According to her campaign website, Billhymer is committed to ensuring that every case is heard with compassion, every right is respected, and justice is delivered with integrity.
Harris County
In Harris County, former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, the city’s second female mayor and the first openly LGBTQ elected mayor of a major U.S. city, is running for Harris County judge.
Parker served on the Houston City Council and later as the Houston city comptroller, also an elected position, before serving as mayor from 2010-2016. After stepping down as mayor, Parker went on to lead the LGBTQ Victory Fund for several years.
Judges
Maggie Ellis is running for chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court where she would make history as the state’s first woman and first openly queer chief justice.
Justice Ellis currently serves on the Texas Third Court of Appeals, which covers 24 counties. She made history when she was elected in 2024 as the first openly queer woman elected to an appellate court in Texas.
She has experience winning tough races, being the only Democrat to win a contested race on the Comal County ballot — a victory credited to her deep legal experience, broad coalition of support across counties and a commitment to putting people before politics.
With years of legal work as an administrative law judge, prosecutor, trial attorney and appellate justice, Ellis brings one of the most comprehensive judicial records to the bench. She is board certified in juvenile law and nationally certified as a child welfare law specialist — a credential held by fewer than one percent of attorneys in Texas.
Stephanie Hudson, wife of the Rev. Jo Hudson, is running for Criminal District Judge, Court No. 1 in Dallas. She has one opponent in the March primary.
Hudson has been a practicing criminal defense attorney for more than 25 years. She’s dedicated her career to ensure every client receives a fair trial. Her extensive experience in the courtroom and understanding of the legal system have earned her a reputation as a highly respected attorney.
If elected, she said she will implement innovative solutions to reduce case backlogs, enhance access to legal resources for underrepresented communities and promote restorative justice practices.
District Judge Tonya Parker, Dallas County’s first out judge, is up for reelection for the 116th Judicial District. In four polls of the Dallas Bar Association, she has earned the highest overall approval rating of all civil district court judges.
Sara Martinez, the first out lesbian elected Justice of the Peace in Texas, is running for re-election to JP Court Precinct 5, Place 1. She faces Nancy Thompson in the primary.
Running for Precinct 5, Place 2 is former Dallas Deputy Mayor Pro Tem and four-time city councilman Omar Narvaez. He has four opponents — Marcos Soto, Andre Turner, Richard Lozano and Katelyn Logie.
Former Stonewall Democrats of Dallas President Brandon Vance is running for JP Precinct 1, Place 1. He faces Thomas G. Jones and Diane Gibson.
In addition, four LGBTQ+ judges in Houston — Harris County Criminal Court 4 Judge Shannon Baldwin, Harris County Probate Court 3 Judge Jason Cox, Harris County Civil Court 2 Judge Jim Kovach and 190th Judicial District Court Judge Beau Miller — are up for re-election, and Jerry Simoneaux is running for Judge of Probate Court 1.
City Councils
LGBTQ+ Latina Alejandra Salinas won the Dec. 13 runoff for the non-partisan at-large seat on the Houston City Council.
The Houston lawyer, known as a progressive, came out on top of a crowded field of 10 candidates in the Nov. 4 general election with 21.2 percent of the vote. Former council member Dwight Boykins, generally considered a more moderate candidate, was right behind her with 20.1 percent of the vote.
But when the votes were counted in Saturday’s runoff, Salinas had defeated Boykins by nearly 20 percentage points, 59.3 percent to 40.73 percent.
Openly gay political operative Jordan Villarreal has thrown his hat in the ring for Denton City Council District 1. He served as campaign manager for Collin County Rep. Mihaela Plesa, who, in her first election, was the only candidate to flip a seat for the Democrats.
He was a consultant for Amber Briggle in her 2022 bid for a seat on the Denton City Council. She’s a founding member of HRC’s Parents for Transgender Equality National Council.
In 2020, he was a field organizer for Pete Buttigieg. And he’s worked on campaigns across the DFW area as a consultant or campaign manager.
Denton city council elections will be held Saturday, May 2. Primaries will be held Tuesday, March 3. Election Day will be Tuesday, Nov. 3. n
Katelyn Logie is also running for Dallas County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 5, Place 2. She announced her candidacy in June 2025. Katelyn has practiced law longer than any of her opponents and is passionate about serving the community. She was left off the list of opponents and has contacted the publisher to request the correction. Thanks.