Who is running for District Judge, 371st Judicial District in 2026?

Judge, 371st District Court (Tarrant County)

Ryan Hill is the judge of the 371st District Court in Tarrant County, a felony criminal court, appointed by Governor Greg Abbott in March 2022¹. Before that he was chief prosecutor of the Criminal Mental Health Crossover unit in the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office¹. He is the Republican nominee seeking a new term against Democrat Marquetta "Marq" Clayton²³.

• Judge, 371st District Court (Tarrant County), felony criminal court, since his March 2022 appointment¹²⁴
• Chief Prosecutor of Criminal Mental Health Crossover, Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office; earlier assistant district attorney, Johnson County, and assistant county attorney, Hood County¹
• Board certified in criminal law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization; member of the State Bar of Texas, Tarrant County Bar Association, Texas District and County Attorneys Association, and the Federalist Society¹
• Bachelor of Music Education, Baylor University; JD, St. Mary's University School of Law¹
• Appointed by Governor Greg Abbott on March 23, 2022, for a term set to expire December 31, 2022¹; the county lists him as the sitting judge with a term expiring in 2026⁴⁵. He is on the November 3, 2026 ballot seeking reelection³.
• Bar poll: Tarrant County Bar Association 2026 Judicial Candidate Poll (Jan 6 to Jan 29, 2026; 441 of 2,026 eligible attorney members voted, 21.8%). This is a non-binding poll of lawyers, not an endorsement by the Association. Results for Ryan Hill: Strongly Recommend 22.6% (42), Recommend 16.7% (31), Neutral 8.6% (16), Not Recommend 7.5% (14), Strongly Not Recommend 16.7% (31), Skipped 28.0% (52) (percent of the voters who chose that race category, with vote counts). The poll was taken before the March 3 primary⁶⁷.

Owner, The Clayton Law Firm (Fort Worth)

MarQuetta "Marq" Clayton is the founder of The Clayton Law Firm in Fort Worth and executive director of the Girl2Girl Foundation in Arlington¹. She is the Democratic nominee for judge of the 371st District Court, a felony criminal court in Tarrant County, against incumbent Ryan Hill¹². Her campaign site says she has worked as a criminal defense attorney, prosecutor and family law attorney (the candidate's own account)³.

• Founder, The Clayton Law Firm, Fort Worth; executive director, Girl2Girl Foundation, Arlington¹
• Her campaign site says she has served as a criminal defense attorney, a prosecutor, a family law attorney and the first African American assistant county attorney in Hood County (the candidate's own account)³
• Her campaign site lists a BA in Mathematics from the University of Oklahoma and a JD from Texas A&M University School of Law (the candidate's own account)³
• Not a sitting judge. She is the Democratic nominee on the November 3, 2026 ballot for the 371st Judicial District, challenging incumbent Ryan Hill¹².
• Bar poll: Tarrant County Bar Association 2026 Judicial Candidate Poll (Jan 6 to Jan 29, 2026; 441 of 2,026 eligible attorney members voted, 21.8%). This is a non-binding poll of lawyers, not an endorsement by the Association. Results for Marquetta "Marq" Clayton: Strongly Recommend 12.9% (24), Recommend 7.5% (14), Neutral 9.1% (17), Not Recommend 9.1% (17), Strongly Not Recommend 24.2% (45), Skipped 37.1% (69) (percent of the voters who chose that race category, with vote counts). The poll was taken before the March 3 primary⁴⁵.