More “Who’s The Most Conservative:” Court of Criminal Appeals Race

I’ve covered this previously, but given that it’s getting even more ink, I thought it might be worth noting:

If Charles Holcomb wins his race this week to retain his seat on the state’s highest criminal court, the 72-year-old judge would be able to serve only a few years before taking mandatory retirement.

But his opponent for the Court of Criminal Appeals, Terry Keel, isn’t exploiting that fact as he tries to unseat Judge Holcomb in Tuesday’s runoff. Instead, Mr. Keel, a state representative from Austin, is reminding Republican voters that Judge Holcomb was a Democrat until changing parties nine years ago.

“There’s a right for Republican primary voters to know the judicial philosophies of who they elect,” said Mr. Keel, 49. “Especially when we have had obscure candidates elected who don’t have a conservative philosophy. I would count Judge Holcomb as one of those.”

Holcomb, however, is trying to take a higher road, noting that party politics have nothing to do with matters of criminal law:

“Especially in this court, as opposed to a civil court, party politics does not play one iota into what our decisions will be,” Judge Holcomb said. “It’s a straw man.”

Good point. However, it does seem that Holcomb has garnered some support from conservatives who think he is more consertvative than Keel:

Judge Holcomb is not actively campaigning, but he recently benefited from a mailing funded by the Conservative Republicans of Harris County and the Conservative Republicans of Texas, a political action committee chaired by Steven Hotze, a physician who champions conservative Christian causes.

Part of Holcomb’s problem is that he’s a former Democrat, having served on Tyler’s 12th Court of Appeals as a Democrat and having run previously for judicial office as a Democrat on a statewide ballot.

Here’s the gist of Keel’s thoughts, evidently:

In a mailing sent to most counties, Mr. Keel told voters: “Don’t let another ‘in name only’ Republican sneak onto the bench,” and mentioned endorsements from the National Rifle Association and the Texas Alliance for Life, which opposes abortion.

“When Republican voters look at his political history, they will not vote for him,” Mr. Keel said.

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