Attorney in private practice; former justice, Third Court of Appeals

Tom Baker served as a justice on the Third Court of Appeals in Austin from 2019 through 2024³⁴⁵. He practiced family and appellate law in Central Texas and served in the U.S. Naval Reserve Judge Advocate General's Corps²⁴. He is the Democratic nominee for Place 2 on the Fifteenth Court of Appeals against Republican incumbent Scott K. Field¹³.

• Justice, Third Court of Appeals (Austin), Place 5, January 2019 through December 2024⁴⁵⁶
• Private practice focused on family law and appellate work in Central Texas; partner, Baker & Tisdale, PLLC, 2015 to 2018²⁴
• U.S. Naval Reserve, Judge Advocate General's Corps, 1984 to 1991⁴
• Assistant County Attorney, Bee County, 1991 to 1994²⁴
• JD, University of Houston Law Center, 1983²⁴
• Elected to the Third Court of Appeals, Place 5, in 2018, defeating Republican incumbent David Puryear, 53.9 to 46.1 percent⁴⁶. Lost the March 2024 Democratic primary for that seat to Karin Crump, 56.2 to 43.8 percent, and left office December 31, 2024⁶. Unopposed in the 2026 Democratic primary³.
• Bar poll: State Bar of Texas 2026 Judicial Poll (non-binding preference poll of bar members, taken before the March 3 primary): Thomas Baker 1,692 votes, Scott K. Field 1,523 (poll lists him as Thomas Baker)⁷⁸.