Who is running for Judge, County Civil Court at Law No. 5 (Unexpired Term) in 2026?

Judge, Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 5

Jermaine Thomas was appointed by the Harris County Commissioners Court as the first judge of the newly created Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 5¹. His campaign says he previously served from 2023 as the first associate judge for the Harris County Civil Courts at Law and spent 21 years at Barnes & Associates, rising from clerk to partner¹. He is seeking election to the seat against Republican nominee Richard Lanier Fason⁴.

• Judge, Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 5 (newly created court), appointed by the Commissioners Court¹²
• Associate Judge, Harris County Civil Courts at Law, from 2023, handling most of the courts' eviction appeals, per his campaign¹
• Barnes & Associates, 21 years, from clerk to associate attorney to partner, practicing trial litigation, commercial law, real estate, and corporate transactions, per his campaign¹
• B.A. in Political Science, Texas Southern University; J.D., South Texas College of Law¹
• Appointed by the Harris County Commissioners Court to the newly created Civil Court at Law No. 5¹. The seat was not on the March 2026 primary ballots⁵; he is the Democratic nominee on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot against Republican Richard Lanier Fason for the unexpired term⁴.
• Bar poll: The Houston Bar Association's 2026 Judicial Preference Poll, a non-binding poll of HBA members on contested judicial races that the HBA says is not an endorsement, was open as of September 27, 2026, with results due October 9, 2026; no results were published as of this writing⁶.

Civil litigation attorney

Richard Lanier Fason is a civil litigation attorney with nearly 30 years of experience representing individuals and small businesses on both sides of civil cases in Texas¹. He is the Republican nominee for Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 5 against incumbent Democrat Jermaine Thomas¹.

• Civil litigation attorney with nearly 30 years of experience in Texas, representing both plaintiffs and defendants from pre-suit negotiation through jury trial and post-judgment enforcement¹
• No prior judicial service found in the sources reviewed¹
• The seat was created in 2025 and was not on the March 3, 2026 primary ballot³; he is the Republican nominee on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot against incumbent Democrat Jermaine Thomas².
• Bar poll: The Houston Bar Association's 2026 Judicial Preference Poll, a non-binding poll of HBA members on contested judicial races that the HBA says is not an endorsement, was open as of September 27, 2026, with results due October 9, 2026; no results were published as of this writing⁴.