Who is running for Judge, County Criminal Court at Law No. 9 (Harris County, Texas) in 2026?

Attorney, Alfaro Law Firm, Houston

Xavier Alfaro is a solo-practice Houston attorney with the Alfaro Law Firm whose listed practice areas are criminal law and personal injury². A former assistant district attorney in Harris County, he opened his own practice in 2011¹. He has run for Harris County judicial office before, losing the 2018 general election for County Criminal Court at Law No. 5 and the 2022 general election for County Criminal Court at Law No. 15¹. He is the Republican nominee for Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 9 against incumbent Democrat Toria J. Finch¹.

• Solo-practice attorney, Alfaro Law Firm, Houston, handling criminal law and personal injury matters²
• Assistant District Attorney, Harris County District Attorney's Office, before opening his practice in 2011¹
• B.A., Government, University of Texas at Austin; J.D., St. Thomas University School of Law, 2006; licensed in Texas since November 2006¹²
• Alfaro has not previously held judicial office. He lost the 2016 Republican primary for the 178th District Court, the 2018 general election for County Criminal Court at Law No. 5 to Democrat David Fleischer (44.9 percent), and the 2022 general election for County Criminal Court at Law No. 15 to incumbent Democrat Tonya Jones (49.7 percent)¹. He advanced unopposed from the 2026 Republican primary for County Criminal Court at Law No. 9 and faces incumbent Democrat Toria J. Finch on November 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 writing³.

Judge, Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 9

Toria Finch has been judge of Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 9 since January 1, 2019, and was re-elected in 2022¹. Her colleagues on the county's 16 criminal courts at law chose her as their presiding judge, and in January 2022 re-elected her to a second consecutive term in that role³. She is running for re-election against Republican Xavier Alfaro¹.

• Judge, Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 9, since January 1, 2019, hearing Class A and B misdemeanor cases¹²
• Presiding Judge of the Harris County Criminal Courts at Law, re-elected by her colleagues in January 2022 to a second consecutive term; she describes two terms as presiding judge and three as co-presiding judge²³
• J.D., Texas Southern University; licensed in Texas since November 2006⁵
• Finch defeated Republican John Wakefield in the November 6, 2018 general election, took office January 1, 2019, and was re-elected in November 2022 over Republican Sartaj Bal, 51.3 percent to 48.7 percent¹. She advanced unopposed from the 2026 Democratic primary and faces Republican Xavier Alfaro 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 writing⁴.