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Maggie Ellis

Maggie Ellis

Democrat

Candidate for Texas Supreme Court, Chief Justice

About

Has served on the Third Court of Appeals (Austin) since January 2025. Board certified in Juvenile Law and previously worked as a Travis County prosecutor, administrative law judge, and trial attorney after a career as a public-school teacher.
Campaign Website Campaign Contributions Party Platform

Conservative Endorsements

None

Candidate Videos

Candidate Introduction
First Openly LGBTQ+ Statewide Official
Flipping the Highest Texas Courts
2026 Texas Democratic Convention

Survey Responses

League of Women Voters
Ballotpedia (2024)

Notable Quotes

“Our laws should allow for flexibility to rise and shift in response to changes in our values but not to political pressures.”
“As the first openly gay woman to serve as an appellate justice in Texas, I will bring balance back to our courts; I will not bow to political pressure; and I will protect the laws that protect everyone.”
“As a Justice on the Third Court of Appeals, a former teacher, foster mom, and PTA President, I have been a strong advocate for compassion and justice for our community.”

Positions on Texas Eagle Forum Legislative Priorities

Border Security & Immigration
  • A UNION-FIRST MEMBER, supporting trust in unions, immigration reform, and ending immigrant deportation.[1][2]
  • VOLUNTEER WORK WITH RAICES, an immigration legal-aid organization.[1][2]
Secure Our Elections
  • No public information found.
Gender Issues
  • DESCRIBED TEXAS SUPREME COURT GUIDANCE ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE as “an attack on our community and our Constitution.” Said she decided to run after the court issued guidance that it is not a violation of the judicial-conduct canons for a judge to refuse to perform a same-sex marriage on the basis of a “sincerely held religious belief.”[1][2][3]
  • STATED THAT SHE'S RUNNING FOR CHIEF JUSTICE to become "the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected statewide in Texas."[1][2][3]
Protect Life
  • No public information found.
Islamification of Texas
  • No public information found.
Other Constitutional Issues
  • STATED THAT TEXAS IS EXPERIENCING "AN EROSION OF OUR SEPARATION OF POWERS AND OUR CIVIL RIGHTS," that the judiciary is under political pressure, and that she will “protect the laws that protect everyone.” She added that laws should be able to “rise and shift in response to changes in our values but not to political pressures.”[1]

Notes from Local Researchers

  • Discusses Governor Abbott’s anti-DEI executive orders and the Supreme Court’s move away from American Bar Association accreditation at the 39:41 mark in the linked video titled, "Flipping the Highest Texas Courts." Says that the Chief Justice gets to make guidance on these rules and her concerns about the current culture of the Supreme Court reflecting these politics and values.[1]