Who is running for Texas Supreme Court, Place 8 in 2026?

Justice, Supreme Court of Texas, Place 8

Brett Busby has served on the Supreme Court of Texas since 2019, when he was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott; he was elected to a full term in 2020¹. He previously served on the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston and practiced as an appellate litigator¹. He is the Republican nominee for Place 8 and faces Democrat Gisela D. Triana²³.

• Justice, Supreme Court of Texas, since 2019¹
• Justice, Fourteenth Court of Appeals (Houston), 2012 to 2018; also served on the Texas Multi-District Litigation Panel¹⁴
• Appellate litigator in private practice in Houston; adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law¹
• Law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justices Byron R. White (Ret.) and John Paul Stevens and to Judge Gerald Bard Tjoflat of the Eleventh Circuit; board certified in civil appellate law¹
• Appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2019 and confirmed unanimously by the Texas Senate; elected to a full term in 2020¹.
• 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: Gisela D. Triana 1,989 votes, Brett Busby 1,913⁵⁶.
• 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 filed a separate concurring opinion⁸.
• 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; also wrote a concurring opinion, joined by Justice Lehrmann⁹¹⁰.

Justice, Third Court of Appeals (Austin)

Gisela D. Triana has served on the Third Court of Appeals in Austin since 2019, after more than two decades as a trial judge in Travis County¹⁴. She was the Democratic nominee for the same Supreme Court seat in 2020³. She faces Republican incumbent Brett Busby for Place 8²³.

• Justice, Third Court of Appeals, since 2019 (elected 2018)¹⁴
• Judge, 200th District Court (Travis County), for 14 years, taking office in 2005¹⁴
• Travis County Court at Law judge, City of Austin Municipal Court judge, and Travis County Justice of the Peace¹
• Prosecutor and Trial Division director, Travis County Attorney's Office; staff attorney, Texas Secretary of State Elections Division; private practice¹
• JD, University of Texas School of Law, 1988¹
• Elected to the Third Court of Appeals in 2018¹. She was the Democratic nominee for this same Supreme Court seat in 2020 and lost the general election³.
• 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: Gisela D. Triana 1,989 votes, Brett Busby 1,913⁵⁶.