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 9: Al Green (incumbent)
  • U.S. representative, District 22: Mark Gibson, A.R. Hassan
  • State senator, District 13: Rodney Ellis (incumbent)
  • State representative, District 26: L. “Sarah” DeMerchant
  • State representative, District 27: Angelique Bartholomew, Steve Brown, Chris Henderson, Ron Reynolds (incumbent)
  • 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, 240th Judicial District: Frank J. Fraley
  • District judge, 400th Judicial District: Teana Watson
  • Judge, Fort Bend County Court-at-Law No. 5: Brian M. Middleton
  • Fort Bend County sheriff: Michael V. Ellison
  • Fort Bend County commissioner, Precinct 1: Richard Morrison (incumbent)
  • Fort Bend County constable, Precinct 1: Mark Salinas
  • Fort Bend County constable, Precinct 2: Ruben Davis (incumbent), Daryl L. Smith

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 9: Jeff Martin
  • U.S. representative, District 22: Pete Olson (incumbent)
  • State senator, District 18: Lois W. Kolkhorst (incumbent)
  • State representative, District 26: D.F. “Rick” Miller (incumbent)
  • State representative, District 27: Ken Bryant, Mary Walker
  • State representative, District 28: John Zerwas (incumbent)
  • State representative, District 85: Phil Stephenson (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
  • District judge, 240th Judicial District: Chad Bridges (incumbent)
  • District judge, 387th Judicial District: Brenda Mullinix (incumbent)
  • District judge, 400th Judicial District: Joshua Estes, Maggie Jaramillo (incumbent)
  • District judge, 434th Judicial District: James H. “Jim” Shoemake (incumbent)
  • District judge, 505th Judicial District: David Perwin (incumbent)
  • Judge, Fort Bend County Court-at-Law No. 5: Ron Cohen, Harold Kennedy, Lewis White, Frank Yeverino
  • Fort Bend County attorney: Roy Cordes Jr. (incumbent)
  • Fort Bend County sheriff: Frank Cempa, Troy E. Nehls (incumbent)
  • Fort Bend County tax assessor-collector: Patsy Schultz (incumbent)
  • Fort Bend County commissioner, Precinct 1: Vincent Morales
  • Fort Bend County commissioner, Precinct 3: W.A. “Andy” Meyers (incumbent)
  • Fort Bend County constable, Precinct 1: Mike Beard, Brad Brady, Chris Bronsell, Randy Dluhy, Billy Guerrero, Daryl Segura
  • Fort Bend County constable, Precinct 3: Rob W. Cook  (incumbent), John Miller, John Minchew, Wayne Thompson
  • Fort Bend County constable, Precinct 4: Trever Jay Nehls (incumbent)
The candidates listed in this guide will be on the 2016 primary election ballot in the communities defined by Community Impact Newspaper’s Sugar Land | Missouri City coverage area. All races including uncontested races are listed. 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, www.fortbendcountytx.gov andwww.sos.state.tx.us