Bill Pederson (Democrat Challenger)
Bill Pederson is an attorney and former assistant criminal district attorney for Collin County, where he tried more than 60 criminal jury trials to verdict. He served as chief of the Collin County District Attorney’s Office Family Justice Unit Domestic Violence Section.
Pederson received a bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University and a law degree from Baylor University School of Law. He has been licensed by the State Bar of Texas since 2001.
Jason Boatright (Republican Incumbent)
Justice Jason Boatright has served on the Fifth Court of Appeals since 2017. He is a former regulatory and government affairs officer at Regency Energy Partners LP and former director of the general counsel section at the Railroad Commission of Texas. He also served as chief of the Texas Attorney General’s Office Opinions Division and special counsel in the Texas Attorney General’s Office. Boatright was a law clerk for Presiding Judge Sharon Keller on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Boatright received a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from Middlebury College, a postgraduate diploma in classics from the University of St. Andrews and a law degree from The University of Texas School of Law. He has been licensed by the State Bar of Texas since 2005.
Justice Boatright has been endorsed by TLRPAC and the Texas Civil Justice League PAC.