Who is running for Texas Supreme Court, Chief Justice in 2026?

Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Texas

Jimmy Blacklock is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, appointed to that post by Gov. Greg Abbott in January 2025 after serving as a justice on the court since 2018¹. Before joining the court he was general counsel to the governor and held senior positions in the Texas Attorney General's office¹. He is the Republican nominee for Chief Justice and faces Democrat Maggie Ellis²¹¹.

• Justice, Supreme Court of Texas, 2018 to January 2025; Chief Justice since January 2025¹
• General Counsel to the Governor; senior positions in the Texas Attorney General's office; Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice (appointed by President George W. Bush); private practice in Houston and Austin¹
• Law clerk to Judge Jerry Smith, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; graduate of the University of Texas and Yale Law School¹
• Has authored more than 100 opinions on the court, according to KERA News³
• Appointed to the Supreme Court by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2018, then elected statewide in 2018 and 2024; appointed Chief Justice by Gov. Abbott in January 2025¹.
• Bar poll: State Bar of Texas 2026 Judicial Poll, final vote summary dated February 10, 2026. This was a non-binding straw poll of State Bar members on contested races, taken before the March 3 primary; the Bar describes it as a preference poll only, not an endorsement. Results: Jimmy Blacklock 1,678 votes, Maggie Ellis 1,259, Cory L. Carlyle 894 (Carlyle lost the Democratic primary)⁴⁵.
• In re Abbott (Aug. 17, 2021): wrote the opinion of the Court holding that the Texas Constitution gives the House of Representatives authority to physically compel the attendance of absent members; the Court conditionally granted mandamus directing a Travis County district court to withdraw a temporary restraining order that had barred the arrest of House members who left the state to break quorum⁷.
• State of Texas v. Loe (June 28, 2024): joined the 8 to 1 majority opinion by Justice Huddle, which concluded that the challengers had not shown that the 2023 state law (SB 14) prohibiting certain gender-transition medical treatments for minors violates the Texas Constitution, and reversed and vacated a temporary injunction against it; also wrote a concurring opinion joined by Justice Devine⁸⁹.
• State of Texas v. Zurawski (May 31, 2024): joined the unanimous opinion by Justice Bland, which vacated a trial-court temporary injunction and held that the medical exception in the state's abortion laws allows an abortion when a physician, using reasonable medical judgment, concludes a pregnant woman has a life-threatening physical condition that poses a risk of death or serious physical impairment; the Court declined to substitute the broader standard the plaintiffs sought¹⁰¹².

Justice, Third Court of Appeals (Austin)

Maggie Ellis is a justice on the Third Court of Appeals in Austin, elected in 2024¹. She previously worked in private practice, as a prosecutor in the Travis County District Attorney's Office, and as an administrative law judge at the State Office of Administrative Hearings¹. She won the Democratic primary for Chief Justice over Cory Carlyle and faces Republican incumbent Jimmy Blacklock²³.

• Justice, Third Court of Appeals, Place 2, elected 2024; on the court since January 2025¹⁴⁸
• Administrative Law Judge, State Office of Administrative Hearings; prosecutor, Travis County District Attorney's Office¹⁴
• Private practice focused on juvenile and family law; handled cases involving divorce, child custody, contract disputes, federal education law, felony criminal cases and termination of parental rights¹⁴
• Board certified in juvenile law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization; chair of the State Bar Juvenile Law Section board¹
• JD, Baylor Law School¹
• Elected to the Third Court of Appeals, Place 2 in 2024¹. In the May 2024 Democratic primary runoff she defeated incumbent Justice Edward Smith, about 65 to 35 percent⁸. In the November 2024 general election she defeated Republican John Messinger, who The Texas Tribune reported narrowly lost⁹.
• Bar poll: State Bar of Texas 2026 Judicial Poll, final vote summary dated February 10, 2026. This was a non-binding straw poll of State Bar members on contested races, taken before the March 3 primary; the Bar describes it as a preference poll only, not an endorsement. Results: Jimmy Blacklock 1,678 votes, Maggie Ellis 1,259, Cory L. Carlyle 894 (Carlyle lost the Democratic primary)⁵⁶.