Harris County
Vote for oneResearched · fact-checked
Vanessa VelasquezRepublican Incumbent
Kathryn "katie" WilsonDemocraticOn ballot as
VANESSA VELASQUEZ
KATHRYN "KATIE" WILSON
Current role
Judge, 486th District Court, Harris County (appointed July 2026)
Senior litigator, Mental Health Division, Harris County Public Defender's Office (per campaign)
Background
- Bachelor of Arts in political science, University of Houston
- Law degree, South Texas College of Law
- Lives in Houston
- Elkins High School graduate
- Bachelor's (2004) and master's (2007) degrees, Texas State University
- Both degrees in applied sociology (per campaign)
- Law degree, University of Denver (2010)
- Native Houstonian (per candidate)
Experience
- Appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott, July 13, 2026; term expires Dec. 31, 2026
- Senior District Court Judge, Eleventh Administrative Judicial Region (2019–2026) (per campaign)
- Judge, 183rd District Court (2005–2018); lost the November 2018 general election
- First appointed to the 183rd District Court by Gov. Rick Perry (per campaign)
- Former assistant district attorney, Harris County District Attorney's Office
- Lead attorney in more than 100 jury trials, including nine death penalty cases (per campaign)
- Ran for 183rd District Court (March 3, 2026 Democratic primary); lost
- Worked in private practice as a criminal defense lawyer, Houston and surrounding counties (per campaign)
- Deputy District Attorney (2009–2017), before returning to Houston (per campaign)
- More than 65 first-chair jury trials completed (per campaign)
Top priorities
Not found
- "committed to upholding our Constitution and community safety in equal measure" (Feb. 2026 survey for the 183rd District Court primary)
- Wants to bring "balance, fairness, transparency, and efficiency to the court" (same survey)
- "I plan to live-stream all court proceedings" (same survey)
Tidbits
- Judicial philosophy: No public statement found
- Court administration: No public statement found
- Judicial philosophy: In a Ballotpedia survey for her March primary run for the 183rd District Court: "I am committed to upholding our Constitution and community safety in equal measure."
- Court administration: In a Ballotpedia survey for her March primary run for the 183rd District Court: "If elected, I plan to live-stream all court proceedings"
Endorsements
- Houston Police Officers' Union
- Houston Association of Women Attorneys
- "C" Club of Houston
- Governor Greg Abbott (listed by campaign)
- Houston Latino Family Magazine (listed by campaign)
Show all 10
- Katy Christian Magazine (listed by campaign)
- Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman (listed by campaign)
- Precinct 5 Constable Terry Allbritton (listed by campaign)
- Precinct 8 Constable Phil Sandlin (listed by campaign)
- Houston Region Business Coalition (HRBC) (listed by campaign)
- Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
- Houston Black American Democrats
- Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus
- Bay Area Democratic Movement
Vanessa Velasquez
Republican Incumbent- On ballot as
- VANESSA VELASQUEZ
- Current role
- Judge, 486th District Court, Harris County (appointed July 2026)
- Background
- Bachelor of Arts in political science, University of Houston
- Law degree, South Texas College of Law
- Lives in Houston
- Experience
- Appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott, July 13, 2026; term expires Dec. 31, 2026
- Senior District Court Judge, Eleventh Administrative Judicial Region (2019–2026) (per campaign)
- Judge, 183rd District Court (2005–2018); lost the November 2018 general election
- First appointed to the 183rd District Court by Gov. Rick Perry (per campaign)
- Former assistant district attorney, Harris County District Attorney's Office
- Lead attorney in more than 100 jury trials, including nine death penalty cases (per campaign)
- Top priorities
- Not found
- Tidbits
- Judicial philosophy: No public statement found
- Court administration: No public statement found
- Endorsements
- Houston Police Officers' Union
- Houston Association of Women Attorneys
- "C" Club of Houston
- Governor Greg Abbott (listed by campaign)
- Houston Latino Family Magazine (listed by campaign)
Show all 10
- Katy Christian Magazine (listed by campaign)
- Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman (listed by campaign)
- Precinct 5 Constable Terry Allbritton (listed by campaign)
- Precinct 8 Constable Phil Sandlin (listed by campaign)
- Houston Region Business Coalition (HRBC) (listed by campaign)
- Campaign website
- judgevelasquez.com
Kathryn "katie" Wilson
Democratic- On ballot as
- KATHRYN "KATIE" WILSON
- Current role
- Senior litigator, Mental Health Division, Harris County Public Defender's Office (per campaign)
- Background
- Elkins High School graduate
- Bachelor's (2004) and master's (2007) degrees, Texas State University
- Both degrees in applied sociology (per campaign)
- Law degree, University of Denver (2010)
- Native Houstonian (per candidate)
- Experience
- Ran for 183rd District Court (March 3, 2026 Democratic primary); lost
- Worked in private practice as a criminal defense lawyer, Houston and surrounding counties (per campaign)
- Deputy District Attorney (2009–2017), before returning to Houston (per campaign)
- More than 65 first-chair jury trials completed (per campaign)
- Top priorities
- "committed to upholding our Constitution and community safety in equal measure" (Feb. 2026 survey for the 183rd District Court primary)
- Wants to bring "balance, fairness, transparency, and efficiency to the court" (same survey)
- "I plan to live-stream all court proceedings" (same survey)
- Tidbits
- Judicial philosophy: In a Ballotpedia survey for her March primary run for the 183rd District Court: "I am committed to upholding our Constitution and community safety in equal measure."
- Court administration: In a Ballotpedia survey for her March primary run for the 183rd District Court: "If elected, I plan to live-stream all court proceedings"
- Endorsements
- Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
- Houston Black American Democrats
- Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus
- Bay Area Democratic Movement
- Campaign website
- katiewilsonforjudge.com
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