A Broad View by Jerry Hogan: Some Upcoming Elections

Rockwall, TX (November 10, 2025) – If there is one thing in Texas that you can be sure of, it is a fact that another election is just around the corner!

For Rockwall County, the majority of the Commissioners Court is up for election in 2026. Specifically, that is the County Judge, Frank New, Precinct Two Commissioner, Dana Macalik, and Precinct Four Commissioner, John Stacey. This will be the first attempt at reelection on the Commissioners’ Court for each of these individuals.

Their current term of office expires on December 31, 2026, but their actions for reelection must start in December of this year.

Each person running for office for the General Election of November 3, 2026, must file their application to be a candidate between November 8 and December 8 of this year.

Once this is done, be prepared to start receiving lots of mailers, opportunities to attend Town Hall meetings, and individuals knocking on your door telling you the pros of their specific candidate.

The Primary election will be held on March 3, 2026. This is where those individuals who have filed for office must compete with any other individual who has also filed for the same office. Regardless of how many individuals have filed to run for a specific office, the Primary winner for any office must have at least 50% of the vote plus at least one vote.

If no one person has the required majority, then a runoff election will be held between the two top vote getters for each office on May 26, 2026.

All this activity clears the way for the candidates then to prepare for the actual election to be held on November 3, 2026.

And now it becomes very easy…or terribly tough! As former Congressman Ralph Hall use to say, “the best way to run for office is unopposed.”

If there are two or more candidates (usually a Republican and a Democrat, and maybe even an Independent) for any one office, then we can expect to be inundated with all sorts of mailers, door knockers, town halls, etc.

Sometimes the race for any office is conducted in a very civilized manner with the information we receive being about platforms and where a particular individual stands on various issues. Sometimes, unfortunately, some candidates resort to mudslinging and personal attacks on the other candidates. While this is common, it sometimes works to the disadvantage of the candidate using this technique as it turns many voters off.

Having run for political office, I can say with assurance that it is not a picnic. First, is getting out the information as to where one stands on the issues and what they will do to fix issues of concern. Next is being visible to the citizens who will be voting. Do they know the candidate and what kind of an official they might be?

Then managing the time available for the election day is extremely important. Getting the candidates’ information to all the voters is always difficult and requires constant attention and action.

Another major issue is the expense of running as a candidate for office. Publications, mailers, newspaper advertising, telephone solicitation, consultant expenses, are but a few of demands for funds.

When I ran for County Judge in 2010, my expenses for the campaign were about $40,000. Current expenses for these positions on the Court will approach $100,000. Obviously, fund raising may become an important part of any candidate’s plan to seek office.

Currently two candidates have publicly announced they are running against Councilman Stacey in Precinct Four. No one has announced they are running against Commissioner Macalik for the Precinct Two position. A rumor is circulating that at least one individual is running against Judge New for that position.

Current annual salary with car and phone allowance for the County Judge is $123,168 per year. For each Commissioner it is $116,136.

Maybe those salaries will convince other qualified individuals to throw their hat in the ring and join the election candidates!!!

Jerry Hogan is a former Rockwall County Judge who can be reached at jerryhogan@sbcglobal.net or 214-394-4033.