Texas Ballot Compare

General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Nonpartisan voter guide · Texas

Criminal District Judge, 185th Judicial District

Race · November 3, 2026 general election

Harris County
Vote for oneResearched · fact-checked
Mark GoldbergRepublican
Andrea BeallAndrea BeallDemocratic Incumbent
On ballot as
MARK GOLDBERG
ANDREA BEALL
Current role
Prosecutor, Harris County District Attorney's Office (per campaign)
Judge, 185th District Court, Harris County (since Jan. 1, 2023)
Background
  • B.A., University of Texas (per campaign)
  • J.D., South Texas College of Law Houston (per campaign)
  • Over 25 years practicing law (per campaign)
  • Born in Houston (per campaign)
  • Bachelor's degree, Baylor University (2009)
  • Graduate degree, Eastern University (2011)
  • J.D. magna cum laude, South Texas College of Law Houston (per campaign)
Experience
  • Legal adviser in Iraq (2009–2012), as a consultant to the U.S. State Department (per campaign)
  • Former Houston City Council Member (per campaign)
  • Council service from 2000, re-elected twice; Vice-Mayor Pro Tempore (per campaign)
  • Criminal defense attorney and visiting judge, over a decade, before City Council (per campaign)
  • Elected November 2022, defeating Chris Carmona; took office Jan. 1, 2023
  • Chair, Docket Management Committee, Felony Board of Judges (per campaign)
  • Presiding judge, felony veterans treatment court (per campaign)
  • Approximately 70 jury trials presided over since taking the bench in 2023 (per campaign)
  • Former felony chief prosecutor, Harris County District Attorney's Child Fatality Division (per campaign biography written before she took the bench)
Top priorities
  • "Restore justice and public safety in our community."
  • "Preside over a courtroom that protects all citizens' right to a fair trial."
  • "Work to ensure the safety of crime victims."
  • "Establish efficiencies in the courtroom and put the courthouse back to work."
  • "Only through increasing access to justice and lowering the rate of recidivism can true reform take place in our Criminal Justice System."
  • Her campaign says she "has created a Youthful Offenders Docket for offenders between the ages of 17 and 25"
  • "Judges MUST commit to working hard and holding jury trials" to "decrease the backlog of cases"
Tidbits
  • Judicial philosophy: Campaign site: "It is not the judge's job to seek convictions, but to preside over a courtroom that protects all citizens' right to an impartial trial"
  • Court administration: Campaign site: "I would establish efficiencies in the courtroom, and bring common sense and an ethical approach to putting the courthouse back to work."
  • Judicial philosophy: Campaign site: "Only through increasing access to justice and lowering the rate of recidivism can true reform take place in our Criminal Justice System."
  • Court administration: Campaign site: "Judges MUST commit to working hard and holding jury trials in order to hold attorneys for both sides accountable to their cases and decrease the backlog of cases."
Endorsements
  • "C" Club of Houston
  • Houston Police Officers' Union (shared endorsement)
  • Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation
  • Houston Black American Democrats
  • Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus
  • Houston Association of Women Attorneys
  • Houston Police Officers' Union (shared endorsement)
  • Greater Heights Democratic Club (primary)
Campaign website
markgoldbergforjudge.com
andreabeallforjudge.com

Mark Goldberg

Republican
On ballot as
MARK GOLDBERG
Current role
Prosecutor, Harris County District Attorney's Office (per campaign)
Background
  • B.A., University of Texas (per campaign)
  • J.D., South Texas College of Law Houston (per campaign)
  • Over 25 years practicing law (per campaign)
  • Born in Houston (per campaign)
Experience
  • Legal adviser in Iraq (2009–2012), as a consultant to the U.S. State Department (per campaign)
  • Former Houston City Council Member (per campaign)
  • Council service from 2000, re-elected twice; Vice-Mayor Pro Tempore (per campaign)
  • Criminal defense attorney and visiting judge, over a decade, before City Council (per campaign)
Top priorities
  • "Restore justice and public safety in our community."
  • "Preside over a courtroom that protects all citizens' right to a fair trial."
  • "Work to ensure the safety of crime victims."
  • "Establish efficiencies in the courtroom and put the courthouse back to work."
Tidbits
  • Judicial philosophy: Campaign site: "It is not the judge's job to seek convictions, but to preside over a courtroom that protects all citizens' right to an impartial trial"
  • Court administration: Campaign site: "I would establish efficiencies in the courtroom, and bring common sense and an ethical approach to putting the courthouse back to work."
Endorsements
  • "C" Club of Houston
  • Houston Police Officers' Union (shared endorsement)
Campaign website
markgoldbergforjudge.com
Andrea Beall

Andrea Beall

Democratic Incumbent
On ballot as
ANDREA BEALL
Current role
Judge, 185th District Court, Harris County (since Jan. 1, 2023)
Background
  • Bachelor's degree, Baylor University (2009)
  • Graduate degree, Eastern University (2011)
  • J.D. magna cum laude, South Texas College of Law Houston (per campaign)
Experience
  • Elected November 2022, defeating Chris Carmona; took office Jan. 1, 2023
  • Chair, Docket Management Committee, Felony Board of Judges (per campaign)
  • Presiding judge, felony veterans treatment court (per campaign)
  • Approximately 70 jury trials presided over since taking the bench in 2023 (per campaign)
  • Former felony chief prosecutor, Harris County District Attorney's Child Fatality Division (per campaign biography written before she took the bench)
Top priorities
  • "Only through increasing access to justice and lowering the rate of recidivism can true reform take place in our Criminal Justice System."
  • Her campaign says she "has created a Youthful Offenders Docket for offenders between the ages of 17 and 25"
  • "Judges MUST commit to working hard and holding jury trials" to "decrease the backlog of cases"
Tidbits
  • Judicial philosophy: Campaign site: "Only through increasing access to justice and lowering the rate of recidivism can true reform take place in our Criminal Justice System."
  • Court administration: Campaign site: "Judges MUST commit to working hard and holding jury trials in order to hold attorneys for both sides accountable to their cases and decrease the backlog of cases."
Endorsements
  • Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation
  • Houston Black American Democrats
  • Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus
  • Houston Association of Women Attorneys
  • Houston Police Officers' Union (shared endorsement)
  • Greater Heights Democratic Club (primary)
Campaign website
andreabeallforjudge.com

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