Richard Davis, a Republican justice of the peace in Brazoria County, Texas, died on September 14. He is still on the November 3 ballot, because he died after the state’s August 21 cutoff for removing a name. Votes for him count. If he outpolls Democrat Shenequa Harrison, county commissioners will appoint someone to the seat.
Davis was 68 and died after a battle with cancer, The Facts reported. He had served as justice of the peace for Precinct 2, Place 2, since January 2011.
Why votes for him count
The race matters to voters in one precinct, but the question behind it applies across Texas. It got urgent during early voting, which began on October 19 and runs through October 30.
Automated texts told county voters that Davis’s name no longer counted and Harrison was the only active candidate, FOX 26 Houston reported. That is not what the law says. The station did not identify who sent the texts.
“I want to assure them that their vote will count,” Shayne Green, the county Republican Party chairman, told FOX 26. Harrison said she had no involvement with the messages and offered condolences to the Davis family. “Under Texas law the election is still happening, I am still on the ballot,” she said. The county Democratic Party had no comment on where the texts came from.
The 74-day rule in the Texas Election Code
The deadline comes from Chapter 145 of the Texas Election Code. Section 145.035 drops a party nominee from the ballot only if the death comes on or before the 74th day before Election Day. Under Section 145.039, a candidate who dies after that day stays on.
For this year’s general election, that cutoff was Friday, August 21. The Texas Secretary of State’s election advisory for the 2026 general election lists the same date. Davis died 24 days later.
The timing also blocked a substitute. Section 145.036 lets a party’s executive committee name a replacement only when the law drops the original nominee. Because Davis’s name stays on, local Republicans had no way to put another candidate in his place.
Section 145.005 then settles the count. Votes for a candidate who died “shall be counted and entered on the official election returns,” like any other votes. If that candidate gets enough votes to win, “the resulting vacancy shall be filled in the regular manner.” The same section covers a tie: a living candidate who ties a deceased one wins.
What happens if Davis wins
For a justice of the peace, the “regular manner” is an appointment. Under Section 87.041 of the Local Government Code, the commissioners court fills a vacancy in that office by majority vote. The appointee holds the seat “until the next general election.” The Texas Constitution says the same in Article 5, Section 28.
That is where the two-year figure in local coverage comes from. A justice of the peace serves four years, so the term on this ballot runs from January 2027 through 2030. An appointee would serve until the November 2028 general election. Voters would then elect someone for the last two years.
The appointee must meet the qualifications for the office but doesn’t have to be a Republican, The Facts reported. County Judge Matt Sebesta told the paper that “we have not discussed potential appointees or specific names at this time.”
Republicans are still campaigning for Davis. State Rep. Cody Vasut, an Angleton Republican, told The Facts he is urging voters to back Davis. He said he would prefer another Republican to succeed him.
Harrison, 54, lives in Manvel and works in human resources. This is her first run for office, the paper reported.
Candidates who won after they died
It has happened before, at the highest levels of American politics.
Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan died in a plane crash on October 16, 2000, while running for the US Senate. Three weeks later he beat Republican incumbent John Ashcroft.
His successor as governor then appointed his widow, Jean Carnahan, to the seat, House historian records show. She held it until a 2002 special election.
Hawaii Rep. Patsy Mink died on September 28, 2002. Her name stayed on the ballot, and voters returned her to Congress by a wide margin that November. Ed Case won a special election for the seat in January 2003.
In Nevada, state Assembly candidate Dennis Hof died on October 16, 2018. He won about 63% of the vote, and county commissioners chose his replacement.
Texas has a recent example too. Conroe Mayor Toby Powell died of cancer on September 12, 2020, while seeking reelection. His name stayed on the ballot. Jody Czajkoski beat him with 55.61% of the vote to 44.39%, Community Impact reported.
Each of those races followed its own state or city rules, so the details differ from Brazoria County’s. The pattern holds, though. When a death comes too late to change the ballot, voters choose between a name and a living candidate. A vote for the late candidate is, in effect, a vote to let someone else fill the seat.
Where to follow the race
This is one local seat on a long ballot. Our midterms guide covers the Senate and battleground states, and we track the House races that could decide control of Congress.
Early voting in Brazoria County ends on October 30, and Election Day is November 3. If Davis finishes ahead, the next decision belongs to the Brazoria County Commissioners Court. It has not said when it would name an appointee.
