Jonathan Richey

Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Richey announced his candidacy for Cherokee County District Attorney in the March Republican Primary. Richey, 42, is seeking election to the office held by retiring District Attorney Elmer Beckworth.

“Mr. Beckworth has served our county in the District Attorney’s office for many years, both as DA and assistant DA,” Richey said. “It is an honor to have served with him much of that time. Mr. Beckworth has been a mentor to me and has encouraged me to seek election to the DA’s office upon his retirement. It would be a privilege for me to follow his legacy.”

Richey has deep roots in Cherokee County and has served as an assistant prosecutor in the District Attorney’s office and the County Attorney’s office in both Houston and Cherokee Counties, in addition to two years in the private practice of law with the Norman Law Firm in Jacksonville. He has been First Assistant District Attorney in Beckworth’s office for six years.

He is a 2003 Texas A&M University graduate and a 2008 graduate from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Michigan.

Richey and his wife, Ramey, have two young children and reside in Rusk, where she teaches second grade in the Rusk ISD.

The son of high school football coach Johnnie Richey, Richey lived in numerous locations growing up but always felt most at home in Cherokee County, where both of his parents grew up. His mother, Susan Holcomb Richey, is from the Bulah Community south of Rusk, and his late father was from Reklaw.

“Cherokee County has always been home to me,” Richey said. “It is a privilege to work in the district attorney’s office here, and nothing would mean more to me than to serve the people of Cherokee County as district attorney.”

Richey, his wife and their children attend the First Baptist Church of Rusk.

Richey has served on the State Bar of Texas District Two Grievance Commission for five years.

The Texas Republican Primary is scheduled for March 5, 2024. For more information, contact JonathanRicheyforDA.com.