Who's on the ballot in Collin County?

Texas has voted reliably Republican, particularly in presidential races, for decades. In 2016, President Donald Trump won by nine points in Texas. But for the previous 20 years, Republican presidential candidates have won by double digits. In 2012, Mitt Romney won Texas by 17 points. 

Democrats believe Texas has turned into a battleground state, and some Republicans agree.

U.S. President

The last one-term president was George H.W. Bush, who lost in 1992 to Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton. Donald Trump is running for re-election.

Republican candidate: Donald J. Trump 

Democratic candidate: Joseph R. Biden 

Libertarian candidate: Jo Jorgensen 

Green Party candidate: Howie Hawkins

U.S. Senate

Republicans now hold the Senate 53-47. Democrats must gain at least three seats to win control, or four if President Donald Trump is reelected and Vice President Mike Pence can break a tie.

Republican candidate: Sen. John Cornyn

John Cornyn is running for a fourth term on the U.S. Senate. Cornyn is a former Texas attorney general and a former justice on the Texas Supreme Court. He was first elected to statewide office in 1990 and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002. Among Cornyn’s priorities is ending human trafficking. He has sponsored several anti-trafficking acts in the Senate. Click here to learn more about Cornyn’s campaign.  

RELATED: John Cornyn leads MJ Hegar by 8 points in U.S. Senate race, UT/TT Poll finds

Democratic candidate: MJ Hegar 

Hegar is a veteran who served three tours in Afghanistan as a combat search and rescue and medevac pilot for the U.S. Air Force, her campaign website explains. She received a Purple Heart after she was injured by enemy gunfire when her helicopter was destroyed by the Taliban. Among her platforms, Hegar believes the country needs a "public health insurance option" to make Medicare available to all, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here to learn more about Hegar's campaign.

RELATED: Meet Mary 'MJ' Hegar, a candidate for US Senate race

U.S. House

There are three different U.S. House races on the ballots of Collin County voters.

U.S. House District 3

District 3 includes all of Allen, Fairview, Lowry Crossing, McKinney, Melissa, New Hope, Parker, Princeton and St. Paul. It also includes parts of Anna, Dallas, Frisco, Murphy, Plano and Richardson in Collin County. Van Taylor is running for re-election. 

Republican candidate: Van Taylor

Taylor is running for a second term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He has previous served in the Texas Senate and Texas House. He is a U.S. Marine who served in the Iraq War. Taylor attended Harvard University, where he earned his MBA. He calls himself a "bipartisan problem solver." He was one of three authors of the HOPE Act, which aimed to provide financial assistance to the commercial real estate market during the coronavirus pandemic. Click here to learn more about Taylor's campaign. 

Democratic candidate: Lulu Seikaly

Seikaly is a first-generation American whose parents fled war-torn Lebanon. She graduated from Southern Methodist University after attending Ursuline Academy. Seikaly works as an employment attorney. Though Republicans have held this seat since 1968, Texas Democrats believe that changing demographics could help Seikaly win. Her website says she wants to "ensure that every American has the opportunity to succeed just like her family did here." Click here to learn more about Seikaly's campaign. 

Libertarian candidate: Christopher Claytor

U.S. House District 4

District 4 used to be represented by John Ratcliffe, R-Heath, before he was named Director of National Intelligence earlier this year. The district spans from Collin County to Texarkana, covering parts of Bowie, Camp, Cass, Delta, Fannin, Franklin, Grayson, Hopkins, Hunt, Lamar, Marion, Morris, Rains, Red River, Rockwall, Titus and Upshur counties. 

Republican candidate: Pat Fallon

Fallon is currently a state senator and represents District 30, which stretches around the outskirts of Dallas-Fort Worth to Sherman, Wichita Falls and Stephenville. He previously served in the Air Force and was on Frisco's City Council before he became a representative in the Texas House from 2012 to 2018. He describes himself as a "pro-life champion" and "fierce taxpayer advocate," according to his website. A conservative Republican, Fallon believes Congress "needs more folks like Sen. Ted Cruz." Click here to learn more about Fallon's campaign. 

Democratic candidate: Russell Foster

A Sherman native, Foster has worked as an IT professional in hospitals, where he "gained a profound insight into the unfair practices that are rampant in the medical industry," prompting him to run for the seat, his website said. Foster supports Medicare for All as a way to fix the healthcare system and wants to see the prices of prescription drugs and insulin lowered. He also supports lowering the costs of education while increasing education funding. Foster also believes the internet should be treated as a utility and would work to "break up the local monopolies" in parts of rural Texas while bringing high speed internet access to all. Click here to learn more about Foster's campaign. 

Libertarian candidate: Lou Antonelli

U.S. House District 32

This district includes all of Highland Park and University Park and parts of north and east Dallas, Garland, Mesquite, Richardson and Rowlett. Though most of the district falls in Dallas County, it does span into Collin County to include most of Wylie and all of Sachse. Formerly a Republican district, Democrat Colin Allred ousted Pete Sessions with 52% of the vote. Allred is running to keep his seat.

Republican candidate: Genevieve Collins

Collins hopes to flip the district back to red. The political newcomer is running for public office for the first time. Collins works at her family's company, iStation. She says she wants to maintain the 2017 tax cuts and audit the federal government's spending. Her campaign has drawn attention and fundraising from the National Republican Congressional Committee, which hopes to take back Allred's seat. In third-quarter fundraising, Collins raised $1.23 million, shy of Allred's $1.26 million, reported The Texas Tribune. Click here to learn more about Collins' campaign. 

Democratic candidate: Colin Allred 

Allred is running for a second term. He ended the third-quarter fundraising period with $1.7 million in the bank, compared to Collins' $1 million, according to The Texas Tribune. He is an attorney and a former NFL player for the Tennessee Titans. Allred has worked across the aisle and worked to convert an old Garland medical center into a Veterans Affairs hospital to reduce wait times at the Dallas VA. He attended Dallas schools, where his mother was a teacher. Click here to learn more about Allred's campaign.  

Libertarian candidate: Christy Mowrey Peterson 

Independent candidate: Jason Sigmon

There is no longer straight-ticket voting in Texas, meaning voters will have to make a selection in each race if they choose. Texas Republicans and Democrats are encouraging voters to look at all the down-ballot races, including the Texas Railroad Commission and judicial races.

Texas Railroad Commission

The Texas Railroad Commission regulates the oil, gas and mining industries in the state. The three-member board has not regulated railroads since 2005. One seat is up for election. 

RELATED: Inside Texas Politics: What is the Texas Railroad Commission? A look at who's running

Republican candidate: James "Jim" Wright 

Wright upset Republican incumbent Ryan Sitton during the primary. He is a self-described "lifelong South Texan, solid conservative and strong pro-business advocate," according to his website. He is a fifth-generation Texas rancher who has worked as an oil and gas operator in the industry for more than 30 years with four of his own oil field services companies. He believes the commission needs to be more transparent and build more trust both with the public and the industry it regulates. Click here to learn more about Wright's campaign. 

Democratic candidate: Chrysta Castañeda 

Castañeda is a Dallas-based lawyer and engineer who practices oil and gas litigation. She was a founding partner of her Dallas law firm and graduated from Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law. While she recognizes the oil and gas industry is a vital part of the Texas economy, Castañeda said on her website she feels the commission is not currently enforcing the laws on the books that regulate the industry and protect Texans. If elected, she would be the first Democrat to sit on the commission in decades. Click here to learn more about Castañeda's campaign. 

Libertarian candidate: Matt Sterett 

Green Party candidate: Katija "Kat" Gruene

Texas Supreme Court

Chief Justice

Republican candidate: Nathan Hecht

Hecht is running for re-election. He was appointed to chief justice in 2013. He was first elected to the state's Supreme Court in 1988 and has been re-elected every term since. After he became responsible for the court's work to provide the poor with basic legal services in 2010, his website says he "worked to secure congressional and legislative support for legal aid to veterans and their families, victims of domestic abuse and families in jeopardy of losing their homes."

Democratic candidate: Amy Clark Meachum

Meachum has been the presiding judge of the 201st District Court of Travis County since 2011, her website said. She also currently serves as the civil presiding judge for all civil and family courts in the county. She worked at several law firms before that, including one in Dallas. "Texans want to elect judges with integrity and common sense who will interpret the law fairly with the goal of obtaining the most just result," her website said.

RELATED: In Democrats’ low-information judicial primaries, gender and ballot names may drive voters’ decisions

Libertarian Candidate: Mark Ash

While Ash has a campaign Facebook page, he does not have a description for his campaign. He spoke with Texas Lawyer about the race, which described him as a solo practitioner from Houston. In the article, he emphasized protecting the civil liberties and property rights of all.

Justice Place 6, Unexpired Term

Republican candidate: Jane Bland

Bland is running for election to Place 6 after she was appointed to the position by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2019. She had previously served as a justice on the First Court of Appeals for 15 years and as a state district judge in Houston for six years, according to her campaign website.

Democratic candidate: Kathy Cheng

Cheng has about two decades of private practice experience, which she says has allowed her to witness the "real flaws in the Texas judiciary." She has experience in commercial litigation, family law, probate, tax law and real estate. "Fairness and justice are important to me because my family fled an oppressive regime to come to the United States when I was a little girl," Cheng says on her website. 

Justice Place 7

Republican candidate: Jeff Boyd

Boyd is running for re-election to Place 7 after he was appointed to the court in 2012 by then Gov. Rick Perry and won the bench in 2014. He was previously the state's deputy attorney general, his website says. "I firmly believe that our constitutional system only works when judges accept that their role is to interpret and apply the law as written — not to create it or rewrite it," he said on his website. 

Democratic candidate: Staci Williams

Williams has been a two-term judge for the 101st District Court in Dallas County, which primarily oversees cases involving commercial, personal injury, medical malpractice, real estate, oil and gas and consumer disputes. She is running because she believes the state's Supreme Court should be more reflective of the "rich diversity of our state" to ensure the Court makes decisions "with the fairness and balance we all deserve."

Libertarian candidate: William Bryan Strange III

Strange does not appear to have a campaign website.

Justice Place 8

Republican candidate: Brett Busby

Busby was appointed to the Supreme Court by Gov. Greg Abbott in February 2019, with a unanimous confirmation in the Texas Senate, according to his campaign website. Before that, he served on the 14th Court of Appeals for six years and was a law clerk at the Supreme Court of the United States before he went on to gain experience as an appellate litigator. 

Democratic candidate: Gisela D. Triana

Triana has more than 24 years of experience on the bench and would be the first justice to have served at every level of the trial courts as well as the Court of Appeals, according to her website. She is currently a justice on the state's Third Court of Appeals and says Texas needs judges who make decisions "based on the rule of law and the Constitution."

Libertarian candidate: Tom Oxford

Oxford does not appear to have a campaign website but told Texas Lawyer that his experience managing a for-profit law firm and nonprofit legal aid office helps qualify him for the position. He believes in relying on jury decisions for factual issues, according to the article.

Court of Criminal Appeals

Judge Place 3

Republican candidate: Bert Richardson 

Richardson is running for re-election to the third place on Texas' Court of Criminal Appeals. He has 30 years of trial experience as a lawyer and judge in a number of positions, his website said. He describes himself as a "conservative-minded jurist."

Democratic Candidate: Elizabeth Davis Frizell

Frizell has 20 years of experience as a judge on municipal and criminal courts, according to her website. She wants to reduce wrongful convictions and mass incarceration, as well as addressing disparate sentencing for the same offenses across the state. She previously ran in the Democratic primary for Dallas County District Attorney but lost. 

Judge Place 4

Republican candidate: Kevin Patrick Yeary

Yeary describes himself on his website as an "originalist judge who refuses to legislate from the bench." He is running for re-election to the fourth place of the court and has about 20 years of experience as an appellate prosecutor.

Democratic candidate: Tina Clinton

Clinton currently presides over the Criminal District Court 1 in Dallas County and previously served as a judge for Dallas County's Criminal Court 8 for eight years, according to the Texas Democrats' website. During her time at the county court, she reduced the docket backlog by 50%, the website said.

Judge Place 9

Republican candidate: David Newell 

Newell is running for re-election. He has more than 20 years of criminal appellate experience as both an appellate practitioner and a judge, according to his website. He says he will "continue to interpret the law as it is written, exercise judicial restraint, provide thoughtful, reasoned opinions, and maintain fundamental fairness in all judicial proceedings."

Democratic candidate: Brandon Birmingham

Birmingham has practiced trial work for about 20 years as a judge and prosecutor, his website said. He currently serves as the judge for 292nd Judicial District Court. He describes Dallas County's history leading the country in exonerations as having a major impact on his approach to the criminal justice system.

Democrats picked up 12 seats in 2018 but remain nine seats short of the majority in the 150-member House, according to The Texas Tribune. Texas Republicans are campaigning to get voters to cast votes in down-ballot races.

There are five different State House races on the ballots in Collin County.

District 33

This district covers all of Rockwall County and part of Collin County. Justin Holland is the second-term incumbent. 

Republican candidate: Justin Holland

Democratic candidate: Andy Rose

District 66

This district includes part of Dallas and Plano in Collin County. Matt Shaheen is the third-term incumbent. 

Republican candidate: Matt Shaheen

Democratic candidate: Sharon Hirsch

Libertarian candidate: Shawn Jones

District 67

This district includes parts of Allen, Plano and Richardson in Collin County. Jeff Leach is the fourth-term incumbent.  

Republican candidate: Jeff Leach

Democratic candidate: Lorenzo Sanchez

District 70

This district covers all of McKinney, Melissa, New Hope and Weston and parts of anna, Princeton and Prosper in Collin County. Scott Sanford is the fourth-term incumbent. 

Republican candidate: Scott Sanford

Democratic candidate: Angie Bado

District 89

This district covers all of Fairview, Lavon, Lowry Crossing, Lucas, Murphy, Parker and St. Paul. It also includes parts of Nevada, Plano, Sachse and Wylie. Incumbent Candy Noble in her first term. 

Republican candidate: Candy Noble

Democratic candidate: Sugar Ray Ash

Libertarian candidate: Ed Kless

Two county commissioner spots are the countywide races with more than one candidate. Commissioners Susan Fletcher and Darrell Hale are running for re-election. 

County Commissioner Precinct 1

Republican candidate: Susan Fletcher

Democratic candidate: Courtney Brooks

County Commissioner Precinct 3

Republican candidate: Darrell Hale

Democratic candidate: Dianne C. Mayo