Dallas attorney Eric Reed, who is running as a write-in candidate for Dallas County district attorney, on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026 in Dallas.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
A longtime Dallas lawyer has launched a write-in campaign for Dallas County district attorney, challenging Democratic nominee Amber Givens in a race she had appeared likely to win unopposed.
Eric Reed, a 60-year-old Dallas native, submitted his application July 24 and publicly announced his candidacy on Wednesday. The window for filing as a write-in candidate in Texas was July 17 through Monday.
Dallas attorney Eric Reed, who is running as a write-in candidate for Dallas County DA poses, on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026 in Dallas.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
In an interview Tuesday with The Dallas Morning News, Reed said he began considering a campaign after Givens defeated two-term incumbent John Creuzot in the March 3 Democratic primary.
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“I was as shocked and concerned as everyone else was,” he said. “Ninety percent of the people in the courthouse the next day were running around saying, ‘We’ve got to find someone else to run.’”
His entry turns what appeared to be a settled election into an unusual fall contest, pitting Givens’ primary mandate against Reed’s three decades in criminal law and the challenge of a late start without his name on the ballot.
Givens responded to Reed’s candidacy by reaffirming her commitment to the race.
“I’ve always planned to work hard and earn every vote, and that hasn’t changed,” she said Wednesday morning in response to a text from The News. “The Work Ahead continues, so we’ll keep showing up, keep doing the work, and make sure Dallas County gets to the polls in November.”
Republicans did not field a candidate for district attorney, leaving Givens without a general election opponent until Reed entered the race.
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Related: John Creuzot concedes to Amber Givens in Dallas County district attorney primary
Write-in candidates are required to run as nonpartisan in Texas. Reed said he identifies as an independent and moderate.
Former judge Amber Givens speaks during a news conference at Antioch Fellowship Church, Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Dallas, to lay out her plans after her win in the Dallas County district attorney’s race in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.
Chitose Suzuki/Staff Photographer
“Like most voters, I see good and bad in both major parties,” he said. “But really, public safety, fairness and accountability are not red vs. blue issues. They affect everyone, and that’s why I’m running.”
Givens presided over Dallas County’s 282nd District Court for 11 years before resigning in December to run for district attorney.
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Last month, a Special Court of Review in Austin dismissed all sanctions imposed against Givens by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct over allegations connected to her time on the bench. The commission issued a public reprimand and admonishment in July 2025 after multiple misconduct allegations were filed against her in 2021.
The Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association had accused Givens of harshly treating attorneys appearing before her and allowing a staff member to stand in for her during a virtual bond hearing.
The special court, which consisted of three appellate judges from across the state, said the commission’s lawyers had failed to prove their case against Givens. Some of the testimony and evidence presented at trial portrayed Givens as “certainly a polarizing individual” but it wasn’t enough to prove the allegations, the opinion said.
Givens has since embraced that characterization: Among the merchandise for sale on her website are shirts that include her name under dictionary definitions for “polarizing.”
According to Reed’s statement, he has more than three decades of experience in criminal law. He began as a prosecutor in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, and later served as special prosecutor for the U.S. attorney’s office in South Dakota and a tribal prosecutor and attorney for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Reed said he has Native American ancestors on both sides of his family.
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He moved back to Dallas in 1996 and opened a private practice, where he said he represents individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations and tribes in state, federal, tribal and military courts.
Reed said he realizes he’s facing an uphill battle entering the race so late, but he believes the move was needed.
“At least this way, people have a choice,” he said.
While write-in victories in Texas are rare, they do happen. In 2022, former Dallas County civil court Judge Mary Brown was reelected as a write-in candidate after her campaign failed to submit enough signatures to add her to the ballot. And in 2020, write-in candidate Alyssa Cigarro won a seat on the Laredo City Council after defeating the incumbent with more than 80% of the vote.