District judge candidate Nicholas Palmer is taking a unique approach to campaigning in Texas.
On Feb. 10, Palmer, who is running for the Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals Justice, Place 8, hosted a drag show fundraiser in Dallas.
The fundraiser contained many themed donation names like Lip Gloss & Lit Drops, Eyeliner & Outreach and Wig Glue & Yard Signs.
The event, though, is very unconventional in Texas.
In 2023, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 12, which, according to a press release from Ken Paxton, attorney general of Texas, “regulates sexually oriented performances on public property and in the presence of minors.”
This passage of this bill raised lots of conversations from drag performers and the LGBTQ+ community.
Legal action was taken as drag performers and others in the drag industry filed a suit against the state, arguing that the law violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments, according to the attorney general.
The suit was originally a success with a lower court blocking the law; however, in November 2025, the Fifth Circuit vacated that lower court’s decision to block enforcement of the law.
The history of Texas raises the question of whether doing a fundraiser like this is worth it. Palmer said, “I’m happy to say that, you know, we have not received any negative backlash from the fundraiser. Perhaps it’s because we’re in the primary, as opposed to the general election.” Palmer said the fundraiser was important to him not only as a candidate but as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
“I think that visibility is important.
When I’m talking to members of my community, and I’m asking them to support me in this race, I thought, ‘Well, let me do something back for my community to help make this campaign visible in, and one of their safe spaces.’”
Richland government professor Patrick Moore said that these judicial races historically don’t have a great turnout, which could contribute to the lack of backlash from opposition. “I assume he made the calculation that the bump he would get from people who cared about that and liked that, and were paying attention, would be greater than the cost from the fact that most people were not paying attention.
Because people, you know, in a judicial race, nobody knows or cares.” The Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals, Place 8, justice position, which Palmer is running for, serves Collin, Dallas, Grayson, Hunt, Kaufman and Rockwall counties.
And until the primary election on March 3, answers on whether the fundraiser and campaign were worth it for voters remain unknown.
