Who is running for Criminal District Judge, 232nd District Court in 2026?

Judge, 232nd Criminal District Court, Harris County

Josh Hill has been judge of the 232nd Criminal District Court in Harris County since 2019, after winning the seat in November 2018; he was re-elected in 2022¹. He has practiced criminal law in Harris County for more than 20 years as both a prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney, and is board certified in criminal law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization². He is running for re-election against Republican Chuck Silverman¹.

• Judge, 232nd Criminal District Court, Harris County, since 2019¹
• More than 20 years practicing criminal law, almost entirely in Harris County, as a prosecutor at the trial and appellate levels and as a criminal defense attorney in retained and court-appointed cases, including capital murder cases²
• Board certified in criminal law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization for more than a decade²
• J.D., University of Houston, 2005; licensed in Texas since June 2005⁴
• Hill defeated Republican Kristin Guiney in the November 6, 2018 general election and was re-elected in November 2022 over Republican Joshua Normand¹. He won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary over Roderick Rodgers and faces Republican Chuck Silverman, a former Democratic judge of the 183rd District Court, in the November 3, 2026 general election¹.
• Bar poll: The Houston Bar Association's Judicial Preference Poll is a non-binding survey of HBA members' preferences, and the HBA states it is not an endorsement. The 2026 poll was open as of September 27, 2026, closes October 2, 2026, and results are due October 9, 2026; no results had been published as of this writing³.

Attorney; former judge, 183rd District Court, Harris County (2019 to 2022)

Chuck Silverman was judge of the 183rd Criminal District Court in Harris County from 2019 through 2022, elected as a Democrat in 2018¹. He lost the 2022 Democratic primary for that court and a 2024 Democratic primary for the Fourteenth Court of Appeals¹. He is now running as a Republican for the 232nd Criminal District Court against incumbent Democrat Josh Hill¹.

• Judge, 183rd District Court, Harris County, 2019 through December 31, 2022¹
• Private practice and general counsel for a cookware manufacturer, according to Ballotpedia¹
• B.A. and J.D., Tulane University; licensed in Texas since November 1986¹²
• Silverman ran as a Democrat for the First Court of Appeals in 2012 and the 208th District Court in 2014, losing both general elections¹. He defeated Republican incumbent Vanessa Velasquez for the 183rd District Court in November 2018¹. He lost the March 2022 Democratic primary to Gemayel Haynes, 45.3 percent to 54.7 percent, and left office December 31, 2022¹. In March 2024 he finished third in the Democratic primary for the Fourteenth Court of Appeals, Place 3¹. He is running in 2026 as a Republican, having advanced unopposed from the Republican primary on March 3, 2026¹.
• Bar poll: The Houston Bar Association's Judicial Preference Poll is a non-binding survey of HBA members' preferences, and the HBA states it is not an endorsement. The 2026 poll was open as of September 27, 2026, closes October 2, 2026, and results are due October 9, 2026; no results had been published as of this writing⁴.
• Presided over the 2020 capital murder trial of Lucky Ward; a Harris County jury convicted Ward of strangling two women in 2010 and returned a death sentence, which Silverman read in court in March 2020³.