Republicans flipped 23 Democrat-held seats in five appellate courts across Texas, winning 25 of 26 contested courts of appeals races on Tuesday’s ballot.
The shift was one of the most consequential and unexpected results of the November 5 election.
“There is no way to overstate it. This is monumental,” Republican State Rep.-elect Mitch Little posted on X.
Little said the GOP sweep of these judicial races will transform appellate jurisprudence in Texas.
The most dramatic change happened in the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas, where Republican candidates flipped seven seats including the chief justice bench won by J.J. Koch. The wins move the appellate court from a 12-1 Democrat majority to an 8-5 Republican majority.
Republicans won 10 seats held by Democrats in the Houston-based First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals, five in each nine-member court.
Republicans also flipped three seats each in the Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio and the Thirteenth Court of Appeals in Corpus Christi.
Tuesday’s stunning sweep by Republicans reversed recent gains made by Democrats in Texas’ appeals courts, starting with the 2018 “blue wave” election.
Bloomberg Law attributed the GOP gains in part to the political action group Judicial Fairness PAC, whose top funder was Elon Musk.
“Major corporate interests were successful in securing the judges they want,” said Justice Ken Molberg, a Democrat elected to the Dallas court in 2018 who lost on Tuesday. “I’m glad to be unwanted by this group.”
“Now comes the work of restoring the Fifth Court as the premier intermediate appellate court in Texas,” responded Republican Mike Lee, who beat Molberg. “I pledge tireless service to that end and an absolute commitment to the fair and proper application of the rule of law.”
The First through Fourteenth Courts of Appeals have intermediate appellate jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases appealed from district or county courts within specific geographic regions of the state.
Republicans also swept statewide judicial races, winning all three Texas Supreme Court seats up for election and all three Court of Criminal Appeals seats.
Unofficial election results for all state judicial races are available on the Texas Secretary of State’s website.
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