Two would-be challengers for seats on the Texas Supreme Court, former Justice Steve Smith and Pflugerville City Council member David Rogers, have been kicked off the Republican primary ballot after party officials ruled that their nominating petitions did not meet signature requirements. The move leaves Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock and Justice Brett Busby without GOP opposition in the March primary and sparked fast-moving legal battles that judges in Austin ultimately shut down this week.
The Republican Party of Texas rejected both applications after opponents challenged their petitions and the party concluded they lacked the required number of qualified signatures from each court of appeals district, according to Spectrum News. Smith and Rogers each sued the party, arguing GOP officials overstepped their authority by policing ballot access, but courts declined to grant them emergency relief in separate rulings.
On Monday, the Texas Supreme Court turned down Smith's mandamus petition, labeling his constitutional arguments "threadbare" and pointing out that his last-minute filing undercut his plea for extraordinary relief. In an unsigned per curiam opinion, the court refused to order party leaders to place Smith on the ballot and said it would need a more developed record before weighing the broader constitutional issues at stake, as explained in the court's written decision. The court's opinion.
In a separate case, state District Judge Amy Clark Meachum of Travis County dissolved a temporary restraining order and declined to block the Republican Party's decision regarding Rogers, leaving in place the rejection of the Pflugerville councilman's application, according to the Houston Chronicle. That ruling kept Rogers off the March primary ballot and reflected the party's position that problems with petitions cannot be fixed after the filing deadline closes.
How the petition rule works
State law requires candidates for chief justice or justice of the Texas Supreme Court who pay the filing fee to submit a petition that includes at least 50 valid signatures from each court of appeals district, as set out in the Texas Election Code. TEX. ELEC. CODE § 172.021(g). The Republican Party of Texas also tells campaigns to collect 50 separate signatures for every specifically listed district, including the new 15th Court of Appeals, to avoid headaches over overlapping jurisdictions or duplicate or invalid names. The party's guidance highlights common pitfalls that statewide judicial hopefuls are urged to anticipate when circulating petitions.
What this means for the March primary
With courts refusing to intervene, Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock and Justice Brett Busby are now set to appear on the March 3, 2026 Republican primary ballot with no intra-party challengers, according to the state's election calendar. The Secretary of State lists March 3 as the statewide primary date. Both Smith and Rogers have signaled they may still look for legal openings going forward, and Rogers called the result disappointing in comments reported by Texas Scorecard.
Legal takeaway
The Texas Supreme Court underscored that an emergency mandamus proceeding is a poor vehicle for mounting a broad, facial constitutional attack on the signature rules and explicitly put off any sweeping constitutional ruling until a complete factual record is developed. The opinion also acknowledged that political parties have associational rights that shape how they run their nomination processes, a reminder that many ballot fights hinge on procedure and timing rather than an immediate declaration that a statute is invalid. The court explained why it denied relief.
For would-be candidates and campaign staff, the episode serves as a blunt warning that qualifying for a statewide judicial race in Texas demands early planning across a maze of appellate districts and meticulous review of every petition page. The combination of statutory thresholds and party guidance creates a high bar for statewide judicial petitions, and this week's rulings signal that courts are reluctant to upend the election calendar without a fully developed record of any alleged mistakes. The Election Code spells out those signature requirements.
