Who is running for District Judge, 359th Judicial District in 2026?

Chief of the Major Crimes Section, Montgomery County District Attorney's Office (his own account)

Michael H. Ghutzman describes himself as Chief of the Major Crimes Section in the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, where he has worked since 2017². He is the only candidate on the November 3, 2026 ballot for the 359th District Court, where the county lists Judge Kathleen Hamilton as presiding¹³. These facts about his work are from his campaign website.

• Chief of the Major Crimes Section at the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and Board Certified in Criminal Law, by his own campaign account²
• Montgomery County prosecutor since November 2017 (hired by then-DA Brett Ligon) and Harris County prosecutor from March 2016; says he has prosecuted over 4,000 cases to disposition and tried over forty cases to verdict²
• Law degree from the University of Houston (December 2015); serves on the Montgomery County Bar Association board²
• He is the Republican nominee for the 359th District Court; he is not yet a judge. The county's court page lists Judge Kathleen Hamilton as the current presiding judge of the 359th³.
• Public discipline: Searched the State Commission on Judicial Conduct public sanctions pages for fiscal years 2002 through 2026 (every year the site lists) on 2026-10-01, by surname; no public sanction naming this candidate was found (he has not held judicial office). The FY2026 page covers only sanctions published through that date. Private sanctions are not published by name, and the Commission's separate suspension and resignation lists were not searched.⁴