Texas Republican voters just reshaped part of the state’s top criminal bench, handing John Messinger a landslide win for Place 9 on the Court of Criminal Appeals while setting up a tight overtime fight between Alison Fox and Thomas Smith in Place 3.
On Tuesday, Messinger defeated Jennifer Balido in the Republican primary for Place 9 on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, locking up one criminal-appeals seat outright and sending another to a May runoff. Fox and Smith finished as the top two in the Place 3 contest and will face off again in late spring.
Messinger received 1,239,502 votes to Balido's 561,199 in the Place 9 contest, according to the Texas Secretary of State. In the four-way Place 3 Republican primary, Alison Fox tallied 562,620 votes and Thomas Smith 552,620, pushing that race into a May runoff. Incumbent Kevin Patrick Yeary ran unopposed for Place 4 and drew roughly 1.68 million votes, per the state's official totals.
Why the Court of Criminal Appeals Matters
The Court of Criminal Appeals is Texas’ highest criminal court and has final authority over death-penalty appeals and statewide criminal precedent. That means whoever sits on the court helps shape how prosecutions and defenses play out in courtrooms across the state, from Austin to the largest urban counties, according to the Court of Criminal Appeals.
Even primary contests within a single party can have real consequences here, since the court’s decisions can set the rules of the road in high-stakes criminal cases for years.
Who the Leading Candidates Are
Messinger is a career appellate prosecutor in the Office of the State Prosecuting Attorney and has argued before the Court of Criminal Appeals. Balido currently presides over Dallas County Criminal District Court No. 1, credentials that framed the Place 9 matchup, as reported by The Texas Tribune.
Alison Fox is a former Bexar County prosecutor who has worked as a staff attorney at the Court of Criminal Appeals, and Thomas Smith is an assistant attorney general with conservative backing. Those résumés help explain why neither candidate managed to lock down a majority in a crowded field, per the Express-News.
What’s Next
The Fox-Smith runoff is set for May 26, 2026, according to the state's election calendar. The winners of the Place 3 and Place 9 contests will go on to face Democratic opponents in the November general election.
Between now and the runoff, endorsements and campaign spending will be the main things to watch, as Fox and Smith try to lock down support from voters who backed the other two Place 3 candidates the first time around.
