A Dallas County constable candidate is fighting to stay on the March primary ballot as a legal challenge questions whether he meets state requirements to hold office.
Demondre Montgomery, 27, is running for Dallas County Constable, Precinct 3. But before he can campaign, he’s trying to keep his name on the ballot.
“The young generation, we’re always saying we want to have change, we want to see change,” Montgomery said.
On Tuesday, Montgomery spent the day in a Dallas County courtroom, where the attorney for current Precinct 3 Constable Henry Curry argued that Montgomery should be removed from the ballot because he does not hold a required peace officer’s license.
“We need someone in place who is going to uphold the law, who is going to abide by the law – and who can actually hold this office,” Curry told NBC 5.
The Dallas County Democratic Party says it has received nearly 60 challenges to candidate eligibility this election cycle, with ballots set to be finalized for the Texas Secretary of State by Jan. 12.
In Montgomery’s case, party officials said he meets the eligibility to run: he is over 21, holds an associate’s degree and has no felony convictions. An attorney for the party, which was also named in the legal filing, told the court it would abide by the judge’s decision.
Curry, who defeated Montgomery by fewer than 100 votes in 2022, argued that Montgomery’s lack of a peace officer’s license should disqualify him.
“What is at stake is just the integrity of the office,” Curry said.
Montgomery told NBC 5 he filed a federal lawsuit in Smith County after being charged in 2021 with impersonating a public servant while employed with a constable’s office in East Texas. A jury acquitted him in 2024.
In a separate case, he received a misdemeanor deferred adjudication in Ellis County in October 2025 after applying for constable license plates, according to court records.
“He’s not a certified police officer; he can’t obtain that certification within the mandated 270 days,” Curry said following the hearing.
Montgomery said he is being transparent with voters and would work to become a certified peace officer if he remains on the ballot and is elected.
“I went through the case in Smith County, it took over four years for to get an acquittal, so it’s nothing that happens overnight, but it will be worth it at the end,” he said.
Judge Charles Stokes, presiding in the 101st District Court, did not make an immediate ruling but indicated his decision would be limited to whether Montgomery meets the basic eligibility criteria to appear on the ballot, not whether he currently meets job-specific statutory qualifications.
The Democratic primary election is on March 3. Early voting begins Feb. 17.