Second, I'm not running for any offices in 2016, so don't even try to talk me into it. But the Green Party of Texas needs candidates.
We don't need candidates for every single position on every ballot, although that would be awesome beyond awesome. We do need candidates for statewide positions, especially State Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals.
In the Supreme Court (that's civil law, just like SCotUS), Places 3, 5, and 9 are on the ballot; for the CCA, Places 2, 5, and 6. The term is six years. In each court, all nine places are currently occupied by Republicans and have been for the better part of the last 20 years.
Apart from these judicial races, there is only one statewide office up for election in 2016, and that is a seat on the Railroad Commission. Our 2014 candidate Martina Salinas has already indicated that she's up for running again. Ms. Salinas amassed more than 93,000 votes last year in a four-way race, good for 2% of the vote.
That 2% is a high-water mark for Texas Green candidates when the Democratic Party fields a candidate in a statewide race. But in order to maintain the party's ballot line for 2018, a candidate from that party must earn at least 5% of the vote. For that, I will candidly admit, we need the Democrats to not show up.
- In 2010, the Democrats left only the spot of Controller of Public Accounts uncontested, and our candidate received 6.34%.
- In 2012, we had a Supreme Court candidate and a Railroad Commission candidate break the barrier, both hitting about 8%.
- In 2014, the Texas Greens had three candidates hit that 5% mark in judicial races with no Democrat running. The big winner there was Judith Sanders-Castro, who pulled 10.44% in the race for CCA Place 4; that's a record for Green candidates in statewide races going back to our beginnings in 2000.
A few of our previous Green candidates have expressed interest. Joseph Altgelt, however, just got elected to the Laredo City Council (in a non-partisan race), so he'll be busy.
Candidates for these judicial seats must meet some fairly exacting criteria. For starters, they must have ten years of practice as an attorney in Texas. Contact me if you want to learn more.