The Advocate: Chief Justice-elect Maggie Ellis becomes first LGBTQ+ person in Texas to win statewide race
Issues
This excerpt is from a piece that originally ran on November 5, 2026.
Amid a national rainbow wave with a blue Texas hue, the Lone Star State elected its first out LGBTQ+ chief justice to the state Supreme Court.
Maggie Ellis, whose race against Republican opponent Jimmy Blacklock was called early Wednesday morning, marks a lot of firsts in Texas history. The Democrat is also the first woman elected to lead the high court and the first LGBTQ+ person to win a statewide election in Texas, as Austin NBC affiliate KXAN reported. With over 95 percent of the estimated vote tallied, Ellis led Blacklock 52 to 48 percent.
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The win makes Texas the 13th state to ever elect an LGBTQ+ justice to the state Supreme Court, based on a 2025 report from the Alliance for Justice. Ellis is one of the only judges to reach that position via a direct election; the vast majority cited in the Alliance for Justice report reached their positions via gubernatorial appointment.