In 2018, something unexpected happened in Harris County.
Nineteen Black women judges won elections in Harris County and created what is still known as the “Black Girl Magic” wave.
With the midterm elections coming up, several Black judges on the bench running for office again say they are worried that a repeat of the wave depends on whether voters will cast their ballots at the bottom of one of the longest ballots in the country.
The ‘Black Girl Magic’ wave
Out of the 19 women who won, two were up for re-election, and 17 ran for the first time. The wins raised the number of Black women judges on the county bench from eight to 25 of the 75 seats.
That year, all 38 district judges elected in Harris County were Democrats.
This year’s ballot is long, but not all judges are worried. Dedra Davis, presiding judge of the 270th District Court, one of the judges who got elected in 2018, remembers the moment well. She had “tears of joy, hope, excitement about possible improvements to the courts.”
Davis, who is vying for the seat again against Republican judge Brian Staley, attributes voter enthusiasm to turn out in the midterm elections to frustration with federal policies.
“The political energy today is similar to in 2018,” Davis said. “Many voters are not pleased with the actions of the political party that controls the federal government, the same as in 2018. Additionally, persons who ignored politics and didn’t bother to go vote in 2022 and 2024, like they did not go vote in 2016, are going to go vote in 2026.”
“Change is coming in 2026,” she concluded.
With the midterm elections coming up, several Black judges on the bench running for office again say they are worried that a repeat of the wave depends on whether voters will cast their ballots at the bottom of one of the longest ballots in the country.
This year’s ballot is long. And the optimism among the judges seems to be laced with skepticism.
“One of the problems I see is that straight ticket voting from 2018 is not available,” said Erica Hughes, judge of the 151st Civil Court in Harris County, Texas Court at Law. “There are a lot of judicial seats on this ballot, and so I just wanted to make sure everybody understands the importance of going through each seat, voting all the way to the end of the ticket, not just going in and voting for the Governor, or for their Senator.”
Toria Finch, presiding judge of Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 9, the first-ever African American woman to hold this position, says the voters will decide if Black judges on the bench have delivered on their expectations to continue their work.
“You hope people are remaining encouraged and they’re looking at what we were able to do because they voted back in 2018,” Finch said. “We know that there’s going to be voter fatigue, people have voter apathy, people are hurting in a really deep way, but we’re trying to get the message out to show them that you can’t stop voting…I hope the climate will show them why they need to vote. And when they do, we want to protect the progress that we started.”
Finch’s caution stems from election data from previous cycles.
In 2018, Michelle Moore, a judge of the Texas 314th District Court, won her 2018 race with 57% of the vote. But that number fell to 52% in the 2022 General Elections. Judge of the County Criminal Court at Law No. 15, Tonya Jones’ vote fell from 55% to 50% over the same period.
In 2024, Harris County voters might have chosen Democrats at the top of the ticket, but in the down-ballot judicial races, Republicans gained ground, winning 10 seats.
Jones, however, says Democrats redesigned the messaging around their judicial practices since then.
“I do foresee that there will be challenges as there are always challenges in opposition, there have been since we won in 2018,” Jones said. “The narrative has definitely shifted, and there is a concerted effort to spread misinformation and to arouse fear in the hearts of our voters. Overcoming the narrative that Democratic judges are soft on crime or that we don’t care about public safety and accountability is a huge hurdle. What we do know is that our voters are informed, they’re engaged, they’re listening, and they’re paying attention, as you can see from events like this that are happening all around Harris County.”
What do Harris County courts do?
Harris County has 70 district courts, including:
- 27 civil courts: These hear civil (non-criminal) cases. Some of the case types heard in civil courts include malpractice, damages, breach of contract, personal injury, and multi-district litigation.
- 29 criminal courts: The Criminal Courts consist of the District Courts, which hear felony-level cases, and the County Criminal Courts at Law, which hear misdemeanor-level cases and cases appealed from municipal courts.
- 11 family courts: These decide on cases related to families and children, including divorce, child custody, child support, visitation rights, protective orders, and the emancipation of minors.
- 3 juvenile courts: These decide cases involving adolescents who have not attained the age of majority, including adoptions, juvenile delinquency,Texas Department of Family and Protective Services cases, and Declaratory Judgments involving unaccompanied minors.
Each court and judge plays a different role in the county judiciary system. While Finch and Jones hear misdemeanor cases, Moore’s jurisdiction includes cases in which the starting age is 10. Meanwhile, Judge Angela Graves-Harrington, who presides over the Harris County 246th District Court, handles divorces and custody battles. Judge Pamela Medina of Probate Court No. 2 deals with wills and heirships.
“One of the problems I see is that straight ticket voting from 2018 is not available. There are a lot of judicial seats on this ballot.”
Erica Hughes, judge of the 151st Civil Court in Harris County, Texas Court at Law
Justice of the peace courts handle civil and criminal cases, including lawsuits over debts, evictions, car accidents, unlawful towing, and property issues.
The races and the cost of a long ballot
While the Texas population comprises 13% Black and 41% Hispanic people, 18% of Texas judges are people of color.
But not every race is a fight. Moore is running unopposed.
“But please do not skip the race, Moore warned.
In 2024, voters faced 50 to 70 contests as the Texas Legislature killed straight ticket voting, which lets voters choose their party’s candidates with a single vote. Now, voters need to manually vote for every race.
In the 177th District Court, the winner prevailed by 5,864 votes, while 110,630 people who cast ballots left the race blank.
Both parties’ chairs agreed there are too many races. The Texas Politics Project said Democrats are less likely than Republicans to finish their ballots.
Judges added that the bottom of the ballot matters most.
“A lot of times they stop at the governor, or they stop at the lieutenant governor,” Moore said. “And the judges in the races that really matter, or those that are at the bottom, those are the ones that impact the community.”
Republicans read the fall-off differently.
Harris County GOP vice chair Kevin Fulton argued that without straight-ticket voting, more people would choose judges they actually know.
A diverse bench: Benefits and trade-offs
At a panel on the benefits of a diverse judiciary, organized by State Rep. Jolanda Jones, attendees said it is necessary.
Pastor Stephanie Wilkins believes that such benches “reflect the population.”
“It’s almost obvious that it is so simple that when you have diversity…when people see themselves represented, then you get more fair and equitable treatment because there are some differences in terms of race, gender, ethnicity, culturally that sometimes the sensitivity is not there if you just have one,” Wilkins said.
Meanwhile, Djuana Lamb Morrison, an HR professional and DEI expert, said a representative bench delivers more equitable results.
“When there’s a true reflection of the people who are being served in our community, in our society, I think that it increases our belief and our hope that what we will receive in the justice system will be equitable and fair,” Morrison said. “That’s why it’s important.”
Judge Melissa M. Morris, who presides over the 263rd Criminal Court, argued that colleagues with different backgrounds can provide checks and balances to help the system function.
“The reason that the law is an authority is because of the fact that people believe in the process,” Morris said. “It has power because people believe and trust it. But only when the judiciary is responsible can we really fight unfairness and discrimination. When you’re deciding a policy, you’re less likely to have blind spots when all the perspectives are not the same and all the lived experiences are not the same.”
Wilkins acknowledged that representation has not completed the work of achieving justice.
“They have work to do,” she said.
