Filing for the March 3, 2026, Democratic and Republican Primaries concluded Dec. 8. State party chairs will certify candidate lists to the secretary of state’s office by mid-December 2025, with final lists posted by late December 2025 for extended filings.
The following local candidate lists are uncertified and are not in ballot order. The ballot draw for the Polk County Republican Party is slated for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 18 at the Livingston Municipal Library located at 707 N. Tyler Ave. The Polk County Democratic Party will conduct its ballot draw via Zoom in conjunction with the Texas Democratic Party ballot draw.
The Polk County Enterprise has a longstanding policy to run a one-time free announcement with photo in the newspaper for every candidate running for office, allowing the candidates to have the opportunity to introduce themselves and their vision to readers.
The deadline to submit the announcement is end of day Dec. 19.
No announcements will be accepted late and no announcements will run within two weeks of an election.
The photo should be a large .jpg and the announcement should be typed in a Word document not to exceed 400 words. Both should be emailed to editor@polkenterprise.com or may be brought into the office on a flash drive.
Additionally, the Polk County Enterprise also offers a “political calendar” which is a listing of candidates that is paid advertising. To be included on the “political calendar,” a candidate must come by the Enterprise office at 100 E. Calhoun in Livingston and pay to be placed on it.
With an “I” signifying the incumbent, the Polk County Republican Party’s uncertified list of candidates is as follows:
Polk County Judge
Sydney Brown Murphy (I)
Larry Pfeil
Roy E. Grant
Polk County District Clerk
Adness Fernandez
Monica Richards Goodson
Megan Swander
Polk County Clerk
Margie West
Jennifer Woods
Polk County Treasurer
Terri L. Williams (I)
Polk County Criminal District Attorney
Shelly Bush Sitton (I)
Polk County Court at Law
Tom Brown (I)
County Commissioner Precinct 2
Mark DuBose (I)
Mark D. Smith
Jay Stutts
County Commissioner Precinct 4
Jerry Cassity (I)
Justice of the Peace Precinct 1
Terri Lynn Mayer (I)
Justice of the Peace Precinct 2
Sarah Rasberry (I)
Zachary Davies
Justice of the Peace Precinct 3
Robert “Dooley” Johnson (I)
Michael Woodard
Justice of the Peace Precinct 4
Jamie Richardson
Polk County Precinct 16 Chair
Lewis Edinburgh (I)
Frank Atilio Hernandez
With an “I” signifying the incumbent, the Polk County Democratic Party’s uncertified list of candidates is as follows:
County Democratic Party Chair
Carolyn Bischoff
Polk County Clerk
Ida Bencomo
Polk County Precinct 17 Chair
Willie White (I)
Ron Diderich
