Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick/courtesy photo

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is pushing back against the thought of eliminating partisanship from judicial elections.

In a statement Friday, one day after the new Texas Commission on Judicial Selection met for the first time and identified partisan judicial elections as a major problem, Patrick issued a statement saying he was surprised it appeared the commission supported eliminating partisanship before it began hearings.

"I expect the members to have an open mind on every issue—including the partisan election of judges—with the single goal of making sure Texas continues to maintain one of the best judicial systems in the country," Patrick said. "Texans feel strongly about voting for their judges. The commission will need to make a compelling argument to the people and legislators to change the current system. I do not believe that support exists today."

The Texas Legislature tasked the judicial selection commission with studying a long list of judicial selection methods this year and issuing a report and recommendations for lawmakers for the 2021 legislative session.

The commission met Thursday in Austin, spending most of its time identifying major problems with Texas' current system. Among other things, members identified partisan elections as problematic because good judges are swept out of office, and political contributions in judicial campaigns as an issue because they appear improper.

Read more:

Forget the 'R' and 'D': Commission Wants No More Politics in Selecting Texas Judges

At one point in the meeting, commission Chairman David Beck asked members whether anyone felt that partisanship in judge races was not a problem.

Only Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, spoke up, saying she is unconvinced the state should eliminate partisanship. She explained that although she herself is a former district judge, even she struggles to keep up with all the judge races and knows it's almost impossible for most voters. At least listing a political party on the ballot gives voters one thing to go on.

"I'm not saying it's not a problem," she added.

At the meeting, all of the commission members said they'd keep their minds open as the commission studies the issue this year. They also committed themselves to challenging preconceived notions about judicial elections, and not allowing past failed attempts at reform to sway their thinking.

Beck appointed three subcommittees to conduct the research. One of them, the elections subcommittee, was tasked to "critique the current system of partisan elections, provide the pros and cons of nonpartisan elections, and discuss the usefulness of retention elections in a new system."

Beck didn't immediately return a call or email seeking comment.