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Endorses Brister

The race

Chief Justice of the Fifteenth Court of Appeals — the new statewide court created by the Legislature in 2023, opened September 1, 2024, with exclusive intermediate appellate jurisdiction over cases brought by or against the State and its agencies and officers, constitutional challenges to state statutes, and appeals from the Texas Business Courts. Its justices are elected statewide, and November 3, 2026 is the court's first election — every seat was filled by gubernatorial appointment until now. Verified roster: Scott Brister (R), the appointed incumbent chief justice, vs. Jerry Zimmerer (D).

Scott Brister — Incumbent. The most senior judicial résumé in this batch: former Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, former chief justice of both the First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals in Houston, and former judge of the 234th District Court in Harris County — a judge at every level of the Texas system before Abbott appointed him this court's first chief justice (effective September 1, 2024). His authored opinions include environmental and mass-tort evidence questions this court's docket will revisit (emission-credit contracts, industrial nuisance, mass toxic-tort standards). Dirt check: no discipline found. The priced debate: the court itself is contested terrain — critics, including Dallas County in an early constitutional challenge the court withstood, argue Republicans built it so state and business cases avoid urban Democratic benches; supporters answer that statewide questions deserve statewide-elected judges. Brister is that argument's incumbent: voters are really voting on the court's founding philosophy, and we price it openly.

Jerry Zimmerer — Challenger. A former justice of the Fourteenth Court of Appeals with, per his slate's account, more than 40 years as a trial lawyer and judge, three law degrees, and six years as an elected Houston appellate justice. He runs on a joint Democratic slate ("flip the 15th") arguing the court's seats should answer to voters rather than appointees and PAC money; his campaign stresses working-Texan endorsements over corporate PACs. Dirt check: no discipline found; his con is structural — his slate's pitch is to change the court's character, which concedes the founding-philosophy fight and asks voters to reverse it at the first election.

Pros and cons

Brister: Pros: Supreme Court + two courts of appeals chief + trial court — complete vertical experience; already running this court through its founding docket; the restraint-leaning founding bench Texas voters are asked to ratify. Cons: The court's creation politics attach to him; appointed, never yet elected to this seat. Zimmerer: Pros: Six years an elected appellate justice; 40-year career; an explicit democratic-accountability argument. Cons: His program is opposition to the court's design rather than a philosophy for its docket; no restraint record documented.

OUR CALL

Our call: endorse Scott Brister. A brand-new court deciding constitutional challenges to Texas statutes needs a chief whose judgment has already been tested at the top of the system. Brister is that judge, and the statewide-election design means Texas voters — all of them — now get the say Zimmerer asks for. They should use it to keep the founding chief.

Vote Brister.

For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.

Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Sources

Election result — November 4, 2026

Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.

AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.

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