DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Presidential candidates

Statewide candidates

  • Railroad commissioner: Lon Burnam, Cody Garrett, Grady Yarbrough
  • Justice, Supreme Court, Place 3: Mike Westergren
  • Justice, Supreme Court, Place 5: Dori Contreras Garza
  • Justice, Supreme Court, Place 9: Savannah Robinson
  • Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2: Lawrence “Larry” Meyers (incumbent)
  • Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 5: Betsy Johnson
  • Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6: Robert E. Burns

County & district candidates

  • U.S. representative, District 14: Michael Cole

  • U.S. representative, District 22: Mark Gibson, A.R. Hassan

  • State representative, District 23: Lloyd Criss

  • State representative, District 29: John T. Floyd

  • State representative, District 85: John Davis

  • Chief justice, 1st Court of Appeals: Jim Peacock

  • Justice, 1st Court of Appeals District, Place 4: Barbara Gardner

  • Justice, 14th Court of Appeals District, Place 2: Jim Sharp, Candance White

  • Justice, 14th Court of Appeals District, Place 9: Peter M. Kelly

  • District judge, 10th Judicial District: Cornel Walker

  • Brazoria County constable, Precinct 1 : Darren W. Barnett

  • Brazoria County constable, Precinct 4 : Lance Willis

  • Galveston County commissioner, Precinct 3: Stephen D. Holmes (incumbent)

  • Galveston County constable, Precinct 3: Derreck Rose (incumbent)

REPUBLICAN PARTY

Presidential candidates 

Statewide candidates

  • Railroad commissioner: Lance N. Christian, Wayne Christian, Gary Gates, John Greytok, Ron Hale, Doug Jeffrey, Weston Martinez
  • Justice, Supreme Court, Place 3: Debra Lehrmann (incumbent), Michael Massengale
  • Justice, Supreme Court, Place 5: Paul Green (incumbent), Rick Green
  • Justice, Supreme Court, Place 9: Eve Guzman (incumbent), Joe Pool
  • Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2: Mary Lou Keel, Chris Oldner, Ray Wheless
  • Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 5: Sid Harle, Steve Smith, Scott Walker, Brent Webster
  • Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6: Richard Davis, Michael E. Keasler (incumbent)

County & District Candidates

  • U.S. representative, District 14: Keith Casey, Randy Weber (incumbent)

  • U.S. representative, District 22: Pete Olson (incumbent)

  • State senator, District 4: Brandon Creighton (incumbent)

  • State senator, District 11: Larry Taylor (incumbent)

  • State representative, District 23: Wayne Faircloth (incumbent)

  • State representative, District 24: Greg Bonnen (incumbent)

  • State representative, District 25: Dennis Bonnen (incumbent)

  • State representative, District 29: Ed Thompson (incumbent)

  • Chief justice, 1st Court of Appeals: Sherry Radack (incumbent)

  • Justice, 1st Court of Appeals District, Place 4: Evelyn Keyes (incumbent)

  • Justice, 14th Court of Appeals District, Place 2: Kevin Jewell, Bud Wiesedeppe

  • Justice, 14th Court of Appeals District, Place 9: Tracy Elizabeth Christopher (incumbent)

  • District judge, 10th Judicial District: Kerry L. Neves (incumbent)

  • District judge, 23rd Judicial District: Ben Hardin (incumbent)

  • District judge, 56th Judicial District: Lonnie Cox*, Wayne Mallia

  • District judge, 405th Judicial District: Ben Roeder, Michelle Slaughter (incumbent), T. Phillip Washington

  • Brazoria County sheriff: Charles Wagner (incumbent)

  • Brazoria County tax assessor-collector: Ro’Vin Garrett (incumbent)

  • Brazoria County commissioner, Precinct 1: Donald “Dude” Payne (incumbent)

  • Brazoria County commissioner, Precinct 3: Stacy Adams (incumbent)

  • Brazoria County constable, Precinct 1: David Thacker, Harold Vandergrifft

  • Brazoria County constable, Precinct 2: Dusty Blackburn, Willie Howell (incumbent)

  • Brazoria County constable, Precinct 3: C.B. Buck Stevens (incumbent)

  • Brazoria County constable, Precinct 4: James Brawner, Pete Gamboa

  • Galveston County sheriff: Henry A. Trochesset (incumbent)

  • Galveston County tax assessor-collector: Cheryl E. Johnson (incumbent)

  • Galveston County commissioner, Precinct 1: Darrell A. Apffel, Barbara Meeks, Tim Paulissen

  • Galveston County constable, Precinct 1: Michael “Mike” Montez, Rick Sharp

  • Galveston County constable, Precinct 2: Clint Wayne Brown, Jimmy Fullen

  • Galveston County constable, Precinct 4: D.J. Alvarez, Jerry Fisher (incumbent)

The candidates listed in this guide will be on the 2016 primary election ballot in the communities defined by Community Impact Newspaper’s Pearland | Friendswood coverage area. Only contested races are listed. OR All races  including uncontested races are listed. Candidates with silhouette photos were not able to be reached before press time. Official campaign websites could not be found for certain presidential candidates.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

Q. What is the primary election? A. In Texas both the Democratic and Republican parties hold a primary election to determine which candidate should represent each party in the general election. Both parties use the primary election results to determine how many delegates to assign to each of their respective party’s presidential candidates. The delegates then vote at conventions to decide their party’s nomination. There are 155 Republican delegates and 252 Democratic delegates at stake. Q. Can I vote in both the Republican and Democratic primaries in the same year? A. No. In Texas, voters can participate in the primary election by voting Democrat or Republican, but not both. Q. Will I vote at the same polling location for the March primary and the November election? A. Not necessarily. The number of voters is typically lower for the primary election, so the elections office may consolidate precincts to fewer polling locations. Q. Who is eligible for a mail-in ballot? A. You may request a ballot by mail if you will be out of the county on election day and during early voting, if you are sick or disabled, if you are age 65 or older on election day, or if you are incarcerated. Q. Can I vote for Libertarian or third-party candidates in the primary election? A. No, the Republican and Democratic parties are the only ones who hold primary elections. Other parties select their candidates through other processes. Q. What is the role of a county’s political party chair?  A. Political party chairs at the county level are responsible for much of the groundwork each election season. They assist with primary elections, organize voter drive campaigns, work with party candidates and recruit volunteers and precinct chairs.

POLITICAL JOB DESCRIPTIONS 

U.S. House of Representatives Texas’ 36 representatives in the U.S. House serve two-year terms with no term limits. Texas Senate The Texas Senate is made up of 31 single-member districts. Senators serve four-year terms with no term limits. Texas House The Texas House is made up of 150 members representing districts of approximately 179,700 people each, according to 2014 census data. Representatives serve two-year terms with no term limits. Railroad commissioner Three commissioners are each elected to six-year terms. Despite its name, the commission no longer oversees railroads. The commission sets policies and regulations for the exploration and production of oil and natural gas and manages gas utilities. Supreme Court of Texas Nine justices, including a chief justice, are each elected to six-year terms. The Supreme Court of Texas is the highest court for civil litigation statewide. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Nine justices, including a presiding judge, are each elected to six-year terms. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals hears cases appealed from trial courts and cases that are punishable by the death penalty. The court also has the authority to grant habeas corpus to defendants found guilty of felony crimes. Sources: www.govtrack.us, www.ballotpedia.org, www.rrc.texas.gov, http://quickfacts.census.gov, www.txcourts.gov, www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us, www.texasgop.org, www.txdemocrats.org and www.sos.state.tx.us