Chief Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals
Who is on the ballot for Chief Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals in Tom Green County, Texas, on November 3, 2026? This guide lists 2 people running for Chief Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals: Cory Liu (Republican) and Darlene Byrne (Democratic, incumbent).
People running in this race. Party is shown when the official list names one.
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Cory Liu Republican
Shared source for names and parties: Texas Secretary of State ballot certification (https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/forms/2026-ballot-cert.pdf), signed August 28, 2026 by Deputy Secretary Dave Nelson. Names are from the Tom Green County section. Election day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
The Texas Ethics Commission treasurer list is a campaign-finance filing, not the ballot. The commission says the office on that form is what the filer wrote and may be out of date.
This page does not endorse anyone.
Cory Liu
Cory Liu, Republican, is certified for chief justice of the 3rd Court of Appeals. The Ethics Commission form says Cory R. Liu, with office held as district judge, District 250, and office sought as chief justice of the 3rd Court of Appeals. The list does not name the county. Travis County lists the Honorable Cory Liu as judge of the 250th District Court. The 250th District Court page says he has served as presiding judge since April 30, 2025.
Darlene Byrne
Darlene Byrne, Democratic, is certified for chief justice of the 3rd Court of Appeals. The court lists her as chief justice, Place 1, and says she was elected in 2020. That page says she previously served 20 years as judge of the 126th District Court in Travis County.
What this job is
The 3rd Court of Appeals is one of the courts that hear appeals from trial courts in its part of Texas, in both civil and criminal cases. Each of those courts has a chief justice and at least two other justices. Appeals are usually heard by three justices.
The Third Court's justices page names the current justices and does not list the counties in that court. The chief justice is the head of the court. On this ballot, only the chief justice seat is up.
Sources: Texas courts of appeals; Third Court of Appeals justices
The area
The Texas Legislative Council map of courts of appeals districts, effective September 1, 2023, shows Tom Green County, Texas in District 3. The map cites Section 22.201 of the Government Code. The same map says the Fifteenth Court of Appeals covers every county in the state. This page does not redraw the 3rd Court district, so there is no map here.
Source: Texas Legislative Council, courts of appeals map
Who holds it now
Darlene Byrne. The Third Court lists her as chief justice, Place 1, and says she was elected chief justice in 2020.
Source: Chief Justice Darlene Byrne
Who held this seat
Darlene Byrne's election in 2020 is from the Third Court's own page. That page does not give the day or name earlier chief justices. Ballotpedia says Jeff L. Rose was chief justice from November 12, 2010, to December 31, 2020, and that he lost the November 3, 2020 election to Darlene Byrne. Ballotpedia is not an official government page. A dated list of chief justices before Rose was not found. The court's map has changed, so an earlier chief justice did not serve today's district.
This list is not from an official government page.
Sources: Chief Justice Darlene Byrne; Ballotpedia, Jeff L. Rose
The buttons keep terms that overlap that many years back from 2026. A term that reaches into the window is shown in full. This choice stays on this page.
A picture is shown when a public page publishes a portrait of that person. An empty box means no portrait was found. The picture is not part of the office list.
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Darlene Byrne
2020 – present
Elected chief justice in 2020. The court page does not give the day the term began.
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Jeff L. Rose Republican
November 12, 2010 – December 31, 2020
Ballotpedia says he assumed office on November 12, 2010, left office on December 31, 2020, and lost the November 3, 2020 election.