Buying Time—2010: Texas
Analysis
Expensive, partisan judicial races are not new in Texas: in the mid-1980s, Texans saw a number of hard-fought judicial races as various groups organized to transform a Democrat-controlled Supreme Court that was perceived as overly friendly to plaintiffs’ lawyers into a Republican-dominated bench that would be more receptive to business interests. Perhaps unsurprising in a large state with several expensive media markets, Supreme Court elections in Texas have continued to be big-money affairs: according to a comprehensive analysis of judicial elections from 2000-2009, when accounting for candidate fundraising and independent spending on TV ads, Texas was the fourth most expensive state for judicial elections in the decade.
Three contested races for seats on the Texas Supreme Court were on the ballot in November 2010; in all three contests an incumbent Republican justice faced a Democratic and a Libertarian challenger. Justice Eva Guzman ran against Blake Bailey and Jack Armstrong. Justice Paul Green ran against William Moody and Tom Oxford. Justice Debra Lehrmann ran against Jim Sharp and William Bryan Strange. All three incumbent justices retained their seats.
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Leading up to the November 2010 election, the Brennan Center released real-time reports on television advertising in state Supreme Court elections, presented here at “Buying Time — 2010.” These reports continue the groundbreaking analysis first conducted in 2000 examining the sponsorship, content and costs of televised state Supreme Court campaign ads.
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October 30, 2010 – Restore Balance
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Blake Bailey will defend the rights of others.
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October 18, 2010 – En Tus Manos
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El futuro de El Paso esta en tus manos.
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October 18, 2010 – In Your Hands
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The future of El Paso is in your hands.
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October 10, 2010 – Make History
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Bill Moody urges El Paso to make history by electing him and ending a 160 year drought.
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