Lubbock County

Open seat. The clerk keeps court records, property records, and marriage and birth records. Garcia led the March Republican primary with about 46%, and the second-place finisher, Jim Baxa, dropped out before the runoff. This pick is a judgment call: we found nothing against either candidate, and only Garcia has experience in the office.

Justice courts handle small claims, evictions, truancy and Class C misdemeanors. The incumbent is a trained lawyer; we know little about her opponent.

Open seat. Incumbent Frank Gutierrez finished third in the Republican primary. Eviction cases are, in Garcia's words, "the bread and butter of Precinct 3."

Nonpartisan; we found nothing published about these candidates. Lubbock Central Appraisal District, which sets property values for tax bills (on every ballot): Place 1 (Scott M. Dinger, Micah O'Hair); Place 2 (Jacky Howard, Garret Carmouche); Place 3 (Jon Bruegel, Tom Keisling). Lubbock County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1, which runs Buffalo Springs Lake: At-large director, on every ballot (Greg Thornton, Casey Klingensmith); Precinct 1 director, in some precincts (Michael Damron, Kristy Doss, Rob "Doc" McGuire, Gary Satterwhite); Precinct 4 director, in some precincts (Teresa Stephens, Debra Sue Pena).

All Republicans: County Judge (Curtis Parrish), Criminal District Attorney (K. Sunshine Stanek), County Commissioner Precinct 2 (Kevin Pounds) and Precinct 4 (Jordan Rackler), District Clerk (Sara L. Smith), County Treasurer (Chris Winn), District Judges for the 137th (Laura Beth Fossett), 237th (Les Hatch) and 364th (Billy Eichman), County Courts at Law No. 1 (Mark Hocker), No. 2 (Tom W. Brummett) and No. 3 (Ben Webb), and Justices of the Peace in Precinct 1 (Jeff Fisher) and Precinct 4 (Lance Cansino).

A voter-approval tax rate election asks voters to approve a rate the school board already adopted.

• Prop A: Ratifies a $1.1969 tax rate per $100 of value, an 8.7013% increase in operating revenue (about $3.07 million). The ballot labels it a tax increase.

Lorenzo ISD is mostly in Crosby County; only Lubbock County precinct 041-LRZ votes on these.

• Prop A: $10.47 million in bonds to build, buy, renovate and equip school buildings and buy school buses. Includes a property tax increase.
• Prop B: Up to $930,000 in bonds to refinance the district's 2026 maintenance tax notes. The ballot labels it a property tax increase.
• VATRE Prop A: Ratifies a $0.7954 tax rate per $100 of value. The ballot says this means a 0% ($0) increase in operating revenue, though it still carries the "tax increase" label.

Also on the ballot: Ted Brown (Libertarian).

Also on the ballot: Pat Dixon (Libertarian).

Also on the ballot: Anthony Cristo (Libertarian), Kevin McCormick (Green).

Also on the ballot: Tom Oxford (Libertarian).

Comptroller, 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.

Open seat; Rep. Jodey Arrington is retiring. Trump stayed out of the Republican runoff, which Sell won 64% to 36% over Abraham Enriquez, who ran as a Trump loyalist. Trump won this district by about 52 points in 2024.

Burrows is Speaker of the Texas House.

Unopposed Republicans: Chief Justice (Judy Parker) and Justice, Place 2, unexpired term (Laura Pratt). The Texas Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals and 15th Court of Appeals races are in the statewide section. There is no State Board of Education race on Lubbock County ballots this year.