Josh Davis elected Bowie County judge

TEXARKANA, Texas — Josh Davis was elected Bowie County judge on Tuesday. The Republican had no opponent.

Davis received 20,470 votes, including 13,297 in early voting, 641 by mail and 6,532 on Election Day, according to final unofficial results the Bowie County Elections Office released at 11:10 p.m. Tuesday. The results are unofficial until the county canvasses them.

He will succeed County Judge Bobby Howell, who did not seek re-election and leaves office Dec. 31. Howell, a Texarkana lawyer, was appointed in October 2019 to replace Judge James Carlow and elected to a full term in 2020. Davis takes office Jan. 1 for a four-year term.

Davis served as Bowie County tax assessor-collector from 2021 until he ran for county judge. In March 2025, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles gave the office its “Driven to Serve” Bronze Level Performance Quality Recognition Award. Davis told TXK Today at the time that the office was the first in Northeast Texas to receive it. Trina McEntire, also unopposed Tuesday, was elected to the rest of his unexpired term as tax assessor-collector.

Davis was also unopposed in the March Republican primary.

Davis said Tuesday afternoon that he planned a quiet election night. “We don’t have any plans other than staying up this evening watching the state and national results come in,” he said.

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The job

The county judge presides over the Bowie County Commissioners Court, the county’s governing body, which adopts the budget, sets the property tax rate and approves spending and contracts. The judge is the county’s chief administrator and also handles some probate and mental health cases in the constitutional county court.

In an exit interview with TXK Today last month, Howell said Davis “would do good in the job” because his years as tax assessor-collector gave him a familiarity with county operations that Howell lacked when he started. Howell said his assistant will stay on under Davis.

Howell also described what the next judge inherits. The jail is the county’s biggest expense, he said, and the cost of the jail, the district attorney’s office, the courts and a public defender’s office “just doesn’t leave much to do roads and bridges.” He said the hardest part of the job is that a Texas county judge is held responsible for everything in county government while having no authority over how other elected officials run their offices.

Others elected without opposition

Every Bowie County office on Tuesday’s ballot had a single candidate, all Republicans. Along with Davis, voters elected Criminal District Attorney Kelley Crisp, County Court at Law Judge Craig Henry, District Clerk Lori Caraway, County Clerk Tina Petty, Tax Assessor-Collector Trina McEntire, Treasurer Donna Burns and 102nd District Judge Jeff M. Addison. Also elected were County Commissioners Tom Whitten (Precinct 2) and Mike Carter (Precinct 4) and justices of the peace Jay Womack (Precinct 1, Place 2), Catie Hawkins (Precinct 2), Ellen Eubanks (Precinct 3) and Susie Spellings (Precinct 5).