Only 4 Houston Judges Retained, Helped by Oddly Named Challengers
All but four judges in Houston’s Harris County lost their battle for re-election on Tuesday, replaced by Democrats in a wave of straight-ticket voting.
The Democratic judges rode on the coattails of Barack Obama, but voters who backed the presidential candidate with an unusual name were not so accepting when it came to judicial candidates.
The only four Republican judges to survive had challengers with uncommon names, the Houston Chronicle reports. The losing Democrats were Ashish Mahendru, Mekisha Murray, Andres Pereira and Goodwille Pierre.
Losing Judge Mark Davidson said he’s not surprised. “How common a person’s name is has always been a factor in judicial races,” he told the Chronicle. He noted that up until 1987, candidates named Smith ran 14 times and won 14 times.
