The following are the complete and unedited responses submitted by the candidate listed below to the Amarillo Pioneer’s Candidate Questionnaire.

Name: Kristen Hawkins

Office Sought: Texas Supreme Court, Place 7

Party Affiliation: Democratic

Age: 51

What is your educational background? Please list any degrees or certificates earned and any institutions attended.

University of Texas at Austin, BA; South Texas College of Law - Houston, JD

What is your occupation?

Presiding Judge, 11th District Court, Harris County

Please list any civic boards or commissions (non-profit, government, union, religious, political, etc.) on which you have served as a board member or equivalent.

I have served as the chair of several judicial committees in Harris County. I have also served on committees for the State Bar of Texas, the Houston Bar Association, and the Association of Women Attorneys. I am a member of the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists (TACTAS), the College of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Bar Foundation, and the Houston Young Lawyers Foundation.

I am a Texas Lyceum alum, Class of 2018; a member of the American Leadership Forum, Houston, Class XLVII; Leadership Houston, Class XXXVI; and Center for Houston’s Future, Fall 2015 Leadership Class.

Have you previously held or do you currently hold any elected office? If so, what office(s)?

I am currently the presiding judge of the 11th District Court in Harris County, Texas.

If your campaign has any online campaign resources where voters can learn more about you, such as social media accounts or a website, please list them below.

www.judgehawkins.com

Why did you decide to run for this office in 2026?

I decided to run for the Texas Supreme Court because I believe that voters should have a choice between strong, qualified candidates and because the Supreme Court should decide cases that are important to all Texans and provide consistency and predictability in the law.

If elected, what will be your top priority?

The Supreme Court is a court of discretionary review, and it chooses the cases it takes. I would work to have the Court select cases that are important to all Texans, not just the well-resourced. I would also work to preserve every Texan’s constitutionally embedded right to a trial by jury and respect for jury verdicts.

Please describe your legal career experience and discuss any career highlights you would like to share.

I am board-certified in civil trial law and personal injury law. In 2021, Tex-ABOTA recognized me as Judge of the Year. I have served as a trial-court judge for more than nine years. Before taking the bench, I practiced law for 18 years and served as a special master for five years. As a trial-court judge, I have presided over more than 200 trials—both bench and jury trials--including very small cases in which the parties cannot afford counsel, very large cases with multiple parties, and cases involving enormous damages.

I regularly present at continuing legal education seminars for attorneys and other judges. I have held leadership positions in the local bar and within the judiciary in Houston. I graduated magna cum laude from South Texas College of Law and was a member of the Law Review.

During your time in law school, what was the most profound lesson you learned that continues to play a role in your career and/or your life?

In law school I learned to be prepared, and I carry this into my career today. I prepare for each hearing before taking the bench so that I am familiar with the case and issues before the lawyers and parties come to court. This helps me to utilize their time more efficiently.

What fictional lawyer do you most identify with? Please explain.

Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird because he believed that the laws and constitutional rights applied to all people regardless of race or financial status. Like Atticus’s philosophy, my judicial philosophy is simple: to apply the law equally to everyone who appears before me. When judges apply these principles, the law is applied consistently and predictably to all who appear in court, which is what every Texan should expect from our judicial system.

Do you have any notable endorsements you would like to highlight for voters? If this question is not applicable, please write N/A.

I am still in the process of screening for endorsements.

Why are you the best candidate for voters to support for this position?

As a trial-court judge, I have presided over more than 200 trials, and every day I make rulings applying Supreme Court decisions. In this role, I see how the opinions affect everyday Texans and their ability to access the courts. My experience as a trial-court judge provides a different perspective from the other candidates running for this position. My perspective is more practical and will assist in bringing consistency and practical application of the law to the courts so that Texans can have predictable results regardless of their financial resources.