While few Texas voters may realize it, they made judicial history yesterday by sending Nathan Hecht to the Texas Supreme Court for the fifth time. Two years into his fresh six-year term, Hecht will surpass the tenure of the late Joe Greenhill and become the high court’s longest serving justice.
Hecht was on the bench today hearing oral arguments (the law doesn’t stop for elections, folks) and did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Hecht defeated Democrat Michele Petty, a San Antonio solo, with nearly 54 percent of the vote, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s Office.
Petty ran a bare-bones campaign against Hecht on a populist platform, which advocated protecting jury verdicts. She notes that, while she had trouble raising money against Hecht, she did beat the incumbent in major urban counties such as Dallas and Harris.
“The reality is, I got 3.2 million votes” statewide, Petty notes. “We got our butts kicked in rural Texas. And Democrats have to come up with a different strategy.”
Republican candidate John Devine and Republican incumbent Justice Don Willett, both of whom faced no Democratic opposition, also won their elections to the high court.
--- John Council
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