Who is running in Fort Bend County, Texas in 2026
- County Judge
- Dexter L. McCoy and Daniel Wong
- County Commissioner, Precinct 2
- Grady Prestage and Tony Aranda
- County Commissioner, Precinct 4
- April L. Jones and Ken Mathews
- District Attorney, 268th District
- Brian M. Middleton and Shawn McDonald
- District Clerk
- Beverley McGrew Walker and Audrey Lee
- County Clerk
- Sonya Jones and Tamara McFarlane
- County Treasurer
- Jeffrey L. Boney and Bill Rickert
- Appraisal District Board, At-Large Position 1
- Shaizad "Sam" Chatriwala and Martin John
- Appraisal District Board, At-Large Position 2
- Muzaffar Vohra and Dayna Druke
- Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees, Position 1
- Angie Hanan and Pedro Valencia
- Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees, Position 4
- Eric Pursley, Shirley Rose-Gilliam, Dan Mathews, Rob Dominguez, Shirisha Mudhireddy and Robert Dombrowski
- U.S. Senator
- James Talarico and Ken Paxton
- Governor
- Gina Hinojosa and Greg Abbott
- Lieutenant Governor
- Vikki Goodwin and Dan Patrick
- Attorney General
- Nathan Johnson and Mayes Middleton
- U.S. Representative, District 22
- Marquette Greene-Scott and Trever Nehls
- U.S. Representative, District 7
- Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, Alexander Hale and Espoir Ngabo
- U.S. Representative, District 18
- Christian Dashaun Menefee and Ronald Dwayne Whitfield
- U.S. Representative, District 14
- Thurman Bill Bartie and Randy Weber
- State Senator, District 18
- Erica Gillum and Lois W. Kolkhorst
- State Representative, District 26
- Elizabeth "Eliz" Markowitz and Matt Morgan
- State Representative, District 27
- Ron Reynolds and Max Alalibo
- State Representative, District 28
- Sandy Ibanez and Gary Gates
- State Representative, District 76
- Suleman Lalani and Linda Howell
- State Representative, District 85
- Lawrence Brandyburg and Dennis "Goose" Geesaman
Fort Bend County
These races are partisan, except the appraisal board. The commissioners court has spent much of 2026 fighting over who gets to run it: Judge KP George was suspended while facing criminal charges, and a Democratic commissioner boycotted meetings over his interim replacement.
County Judge
Vote for oneJudge KP George was suspended in 2026 while facing criminal charges, and Daniel Wong was sworn in as interim judge in April. Democratic commissioners challenged his authority to preside; a district judge ruled in August that he can stay.
Dexter L. McCoy
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratOn the court he backed paid parental leave for county workers, an $11 million rural broadband partnership and countywide drainage studies. Endorsed by Fort Bend Democrats, the Houston Chronicle editorial board and Rep. Lizzie Fletcher.
Sources: Fort Bend County, Texas House resolution, Houston Chronicle, Ballotpedia
Daniel Wong
Not good people RepublicanRunning on public safety, flood control, lower property taxes and tighter county spending. Endorsed by Gov. Greg Abbott and the Fort Bend Conservative PAC; the Houston Chronicle backed him in the Republican primary.
Sources: Campaign site, Community Impact, Ballotpedia, KPRC Click2Houston
County Commissioner, Precinct 2
Vote for oneGrady Prestage
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratThe longest-serving member of the court, running on drinking water, drainage, health care and public safety. In 2026 he skipped meetings to protest Judge Wong's appointment, which left the court without a quorum and stalled votes on infrastructure bonds.
Sources: Fort Bend County, Community Impact Q&A, Community Impact, Gulf Coast AFL-CIO
Tony Aranda
Not good people RepublicanCriticized Prestage for skipping meetings and wants tighter spending. Endorsed by the Fort Bend Conservative PAC and Veterans for America First.
Sources: Missouri City Stafford Journal, Community Impact Q&A, Ballotpedia
County Commissioner, Precinct 4
Vote for oneOpen seat. Commissioner Dexter McCoy is running for county judge.
April L. Jones
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratSays she is running to bring "transparency, accountability" to the court and put residents ahead of political interests. Wants growth managed carefully, with better drainage and roads.
Sources: Community Impact Q&A, Community Impact Q&A
Ken Mathews
Compromised RepublicanRunning on spending control and keeping families from being "taxed out of their homes." During the runoff a local magazine reported it could find no public records backing his claimed law-enforcement career, and noted a civil debt lawsuit against him.
Sources: Branch, Katy Christian Magazine, Fort Bend Business Coalition
District Attorney, 268th District
Vote for oneBrian M. Middleton
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratFort Bend's first Black DA. He created the office's public integrity and civil rights divisions, which prosecuted Judge KP George, and has pledged not to prosecute abortion cases. KP George's lawyers have accused his prosecutors of hiding messaging-app communications.
Sources: Missouri City Stafford Journal, Bolts, FOX 26
Shawn McDonald
Compromised RepublicanPromises to prosecute violent crime "aggressively" and clear court backlogs, and calls Middleton a "George Soros funded" prosecutor. Endorsed by the Fort Bend Conservative PAC and True Texas Project.
Sources: Community Impact Q&A, Bolts, Ballotpedia
District Clerk
Vote for oneBeverley McGrew Walker
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratPut county court records back to 1821 online. She was the first Black woman on the Houston City Council, and is endorsed by the Gulf Coast labor federation.
Sources: Fort Bend County, Community Impact Q&A, Ballotpedia
Audrey Lee
Compromised RepublicanWants to modernize the office's systems and train staff. Endorsed by the Fort Bend Conservative PAC; she has no experience running a public office.
Sources: Katy Christian Magazine, Campaign site, Ballotpedia
County Clerk
Vote for oneOpen seat.
Sonya Jones
Compromised (best choice in this race) DemocratWants to modernize the clerk's services. As a trustee she drew criticism for heated posts aimed at parents, and a former superintendent named her in a 2024 defamation lawsuit.
Sources: Community Impact Q&A, Houston Chronicle, FOX 26
Tamara McFarlane
Not good people RepublicanRunning on deed-theft protection and cybersecurity. In the primary she spread unverified foreign-espionage claims about her opponent, drawing pushback even from Rep. Troy Nehls.
Sources: Community Impact Q&A, Katy Christian Magazine
County Treasurer
Vote for oneJeffrey L. Boney
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratWants a more open, responsive treasurer's office. Won the Democratic runoff with 64% and is endorsed by the Gulf Coast labor federation and Gun Sense Voter.
Sources: Community Impact Q&A, Ballotpedia
Bill Rickert
Compromised RepublicanSays "there is no partisan way to safeguard tax dollars." Endorsed by the Fort Bend Conservative PAC and Texas Latino Conservatives PAC.
Sources: Katy Fulshear Times, Campaign site, Ballotpedia
Appraisal District Board, At-Large Position 1
Vote for oneNonpartisan. This board hires the chief appraiser who sets property values for your tax bill. We found little on either candidate, so the pick goes to the one without Republican primary ties.
Shaizad "Sam" Chatriwala
Not enough info (best choice in this race)Won the newly created seat in 2024. In a 2024 run for Missouri City council he talked about lower property taxes and protecting the power grid in storms.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Community Impact Q&A
Martin John
Not enough infoRan in the 2022 Republican primary for district clerk. He has posted no platform or endorsements for this race.
Sources: KPRC Click2Houston, GoodParty
Appraisal District Board, At-Large Position 2
Vote for oneNonpartisan, open seat. We found little on either candidate; the pick goes to the one who has run as a Democrat.
Muzaffar Vohra
Not enough info (best choice in this race)Ran in the March 2026 Democratic primary for district clerk and for Sugar Land council in 2024. We found nothing on his views about appraisals.
Sources: Community Impact Q&A, Campaign site
Dayna Druke
Not enough infoListed on the ballot as Jordayna Druke. We found nothing on her positions.
Sources: Ballotpedia
Judges and justices of the peace
Not profiledAlso on the ballot and not rated: District Judges, 240th (Asha Reddi, R; Surendran K. Pattel, D), 268th (Steve Rogers, R; Brendetta Scott, D), 328th (Richard Lybarger, R; Monica Rawlins, D), 458th (Maggie Jaramillo, R; Tameika Carter, D), 501st (Richard T. Bell, R; Latosha McGill Clayton, D) and 502nd (Mark H. Hanna, R; Tamecia Glover, D); County Courts at Law No. 1 (Chris Morales, R; Nireasha Murray, D), No. 2 (Jorden Maljovec, R; Tyra McCollum, D), No. 3 (Jessica Jaramillo, R; Juli A. Mathew, D), No. 4 (Michael Cody Moore, R; Toni Wallace, D) and No. 6 (Dean Hrbacek, R; Stephen Longoria, D); and Justices of the Peace in Precinct 1, Place 1 (Kelly Crow, R; Martin B. Sanchez, D), Precinct 1, Place 2 (Tricia Krenek, R; Hortencia Sanchez, D), Precinct 2, Place 1 (Ninh Truong, R; Roderick C. Garner Sr., D), Precinct 3, Place 1 (William Ferguson, R; Sonia Rash, D) and Precinct 3, Place 2 (Ken Cannata, R; Rachelle Carter, D).
Unopposed county races
No contestAppraisal District Board, At-Large Position 3 (Ameer Malik).
School board
Fort Bend ISD trustee races are nonpartisan and at-large. Sugar Land, Missouri City, Richmond and Rosenberg hold their city elections in May, so there are no city council races this November.
Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees, Position 1
Vote for oneAngie Hanan
Seems like good people (best choice in this race)A former elementary teacher and the district's ESL coordinator. In 2024 she was one of two trustees to vote against the district's restrictive library book policy.
Sources: Missouri City Stafford Journal, Houston Chronicle, Community Impact Q&A
Pedro Valencia
Seems like good peopleWants to cut administrative busywork for teachers, pay them more and order independent audits of the budget. Ran in the March 2026 Democratic primary for county treasurer.
Sources: Community Impact Q&A, Ballotpedia
Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees, Position 4
Vote for oneSix candidates. The board voted to close seven elementary schools over public opposition. Two former educators rate well here; the pick goes to the one in a classroom now.
Eric Pursley
Seems like good people (best choice in this race)Running because the board closed seven elementary schools despite opposition. Says his priority is "pushing back against extremist and ideological pressures from the state government."
Sources: Houston Chronicle, Community Impact Q&A
Shirley Rose-Gilliam
Seems like good peopleNamed secondary principal of the year while at Bush High School. Lists student achievement and fiscal responsibility as her priorities.
Sources: Fort Bend ISD, Community Impact Q&A
Dan Mathews
Not good people RepublicanSays he would close schools only "as a last resort." A former Republican precinct chair who ran for the Texas House in 2022 and Congress in 2020, now running for a nonpartisan board.
Sources: Houston Chronicle, Community Impact Q&A
Rob Dominguez
Not enough infoWants data-driven decisions and 12-year planning for the district. We found no endorsements.
Sources: Community Impact Q&A
Shirisha Mudhireddy
Not enough infoRunning on transparency, cutting administrative waste, school safety and academic results. Little else on record.
Sources: Community Impact Q&A, Houston Chronicle
Robert Dombrowski
Not enough infoHas no campaign website and did not answer voter guide questionnaires.
Sources: Houston Chronicle
Unopposed trustees
No contestFort Bend ISD Position 5 (Addie Heyliger, appointed in 2025 and a former board president).
State and federal
Fort Bend is split among four congressional districts, two state senate districts and five state house districts, so check your sample ballot to see which are yours.
U.S. Senator
Vote for oneAlso on the ballot: Ted Brown (Libertarian).
James Talarico
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratA former teacher who wrote the Texas law capping insulin at $25 a month and co-wrote a ban on police chokeholds.
Sources: Wikipedia
Ken Paxton
Not good people RepublicanSued to throw out four states' 2020 votes and spoke at the January 6 rally. The Republican-led Texas House impeached him for corruption 121 to 23.
Sources: Wikipedia
Governor
Vote for oneAlso on the ballot: Pat Dixon (Libertarian).
Gina Hinojosa
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratA public school advocate who ran the Austin school board before the Legislature.
Sources: Texas Tribune
Greg Abbott
Not good people RepublicanSigned SB 4, which lets state police arrest and deport people on suspicion of illegal entry, and bused more than 100,000 migrants to other cities as a stunt. Also signed the school voucher law.
Sources: Texas Tribune, Wikipedia
Lieutenant Governor
Vote for oneAlso on the ballot: Anthony Cristo (Libertarian), Kevin McCormick (Green).
Vikki Goodwin
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratRunning on school funding and against vouchers.
Sources: Texas Tribune
Attorney General
Vote for oneAlso on the ballot: Tom Oxford (Libertarian).
Nathan Johnson
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratHas passed about 134 bills since 2019 and promises to run the AG's office as a law office again instead of a political shop.
Sources: Texas Tribune
Mayes Middleton
Not good people RepublicanCalls himself "MAGA Mayes" and has called 2020 "a stolen election." Beat Chip Roy by attacking him for certifying the 2020 results.
Sources: Texas Tribune, KSAT
Everything else on the statewide ballot
Not profiledComptroller, Land Commissioner, Agriculture Commissioner, Railroad Commissioner, the State Board of Education, and the Supreme Court and appeals court seats. We haven't profiled these yet.
U.S. Representative, District 22
Vote for oneOpen seat. Rep. Troy Nehls is retiring; his twin brother is running.
Marquette Greene-Scott
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratCalls masked agents arresting people at schools and courthouses "completely lawless" and wants a path to citizenship. Endorsed by the Texas AFL-CIO, Texas AFT and Everytown.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Community Impact Q&A, Texas AFT
Trever Nehls
Not good people RepublicanRunning on the border, inflation and finishing Highway 99. Endorsed by Trump; lost the 2022 county judge race to KP George.
Sources: Houston Chronicle, Ballotpedia
U.S. Representative, District 7
Vote for oneLizzie Pannill Fletcher
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratIntroduced the Right to Contraception Act in 2025 and voted against a 2024 land-ownership bill she said discriminated against green-card holders. Endorsed by the Texas AFL-CIO, TSTA and EMILY's List.
Sources: House votes page, Texas AFL-CIO
Alexander Hale
Not enough info RepublicanFormer intern for the American Enterprise Institute and Sen. Ben Sasse. Wants to "secure our border"; the Houston Chronicle backed him in the Republican runoff.
Sources: Branch, Houston Chronicle
Espoir Ngabo
Not enough info GreenThe Green Party nominee, running on campaign finance reform and less corporate money in Congress.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Campaign site
U.S. Representative, District 18
Vote for oneChristian Dashaun Menefee
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratWon a special election runoff in January and filed a bill requiring states to promptly fill vacant House seats. Lists lower costs, voting rights and environmental justice as priorities.
Sources: Wikipedia, House press release, Community Impact Q&A
Ronald Dwayne Whitfield
Not enough info RepublicanGot about 2% in the 2025 special election. Did not answer local media questionnaires.
Sources: Community Impact Q&A, UH Hobby School
U.S. Representative, District 14
Vote for oneThurman Bill Bartie
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratRunning on disaster recovery money, affordability, health care and immigration reform.
Sources: Campaign site, Community Impact Q&A
Randy Weber
Not good people RepublicanOn January 6 and 7, 2021, voted against certifying Arizona's and Pennsylvania's electoral votes. Endorsed by Trump.
Sources: Ballotpedia
State Senator, District 18
Vote for oneErica Gillum
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratAs mayor she helped land over $9 million for drainage and secured a deal reserving a quarter of jobs at a new H-E-B distribution center for local residents.
Sources: Campaign site, Lone Star Left
Lois W. Kolkhorst
Not good people RepublicanWrote the 2017 "bathroom bill" to make transgender Texans use restrooms matching their birth certificates. Endorsed by True Texas Project.
Sources: Texas Senate, Ballotpedia
State Representative, District 26
Vote for oneElizabeth "Eliz" Markowitz
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratWants more public school money, no vouchers and wider health coverage. Endorsed by the Texas AFL-CIO.
Sources: Houston Chronicle, Texas AFL-CIO
Matt Morgan
Compromised RepublicanSponsored the 2025 law restricting bathroom access by biological sex and voted against letting voters decide on school vouchers. Endorsed by the Houston police union and Young Conservatives of Texas.
Sources: Ballotpedia, HPOU
State Representative, District 27
Vote for oneBoth candidates have problems; the tie goes to the Democrat.
Ron Reynolds
Compromised (best choice in this race) DemocratPushes for health care, a higher minimum wage and gun safety. Convicted of misdemeanor barratry (soliciting clients) in 2015, he served four months in jail.
Sources: Texas House, Wikipedia, Community Impact Q&A
Max Alalibo
Compromised RepublicanSays "parental rights, a sacrosanct gift from God, will be restored in Texas schools." Running on lower taxes and backing police.
Sources: Community Impact Q&A, Campaign site
State Representative, District 28
Vote for oneSandy Ibanez
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratRunning on lower property taxes and insurance costs and more school funding. Endorsed by the Texas AFL-CIO and Fort Bend AFT.
Sources: Lone Star Left, Ballotpedia
Gary Gates
Not good people RepublicanVoted to impeach Ken Paxton in 2023, then said he regretted it and gave to Paxton's campaign. Endorsed by Trump.
Sources: Katy Christian Magazine, Texas Scorecard
State Representative, District 76
Vote for oneSuleman Lalani
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratSays he got into politics to treat "ailing patients and ailing policies." Endorsed by the Texas AFL-CIO, Texas AFT, TSTA and Planned Parenthood Texas Votes.
Sources: Texas House, Community Impact Q&A, Texas AFT
Linda Howell
Not good people RepublicanRunning on property tax relief and "fiscal discipline." She led the county Republican Party.
Sources: Community Impact Q&A, Community Impact
State Representative, District 85
Vote for oneOpen seat. Geesaman beat Rep. Stan Kitzman in the Republican primary.
Lawrence Brandyburg
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratRunning on school funding, teacher pay, lower utility costs and practical immigration reform.
Sources: Campaign site
Dennis "Goose" Geesaman
Not good people RepublicanWants to end property taxes on homesteads and cut off benefits for undocumented immigrants. Endorsed by Texans for Strong Borders and Texans for Fiscal Responsibility.
Sources: Community Impact Q&A, Texans for Strong Borders, Texas Scorecard
Other district races
Not profiledAlso on some Fort Bend ballots and not rated: State Senator, District 13 (Borris L. Miles, D, unopposed); State Board of Education, District 7 (Julie Pickren, R; Tiffany Perkinz, D) and District 8 (Audrey G. Young, R; Dana Van De Walker, D); and the 1st and 14th Courts of Appeals.
City propositions
We describe what each proposition does and don't make recommendations. Some MUD (municipal utility district) director elections are also on ballots in those neighborhoods. Statewide races (U.S. Senate, governor and so on) are in the State and federal section.
Houston, Proposition A
PropositionsFor Fort Bend residents who live inside Houston city limits.
- Prop A: Amends the city charter to make enforcing misdemeanor marijuana possession the Houston Police Department's lowest priority, with reporting requirements, and bars Houston officers from seeking or carrying out "no-knock" search warrants.