Democratic candidate for a seat on the Texas Supreme Court. He lost to Republican incumbent Greg Abbott by a three-to-two margin. In 2004, he again sought a Supreme Court seat but lost to appointed Republican incumbent Scott Brister. 2006 Texas attorney general bid In October 2006, Van Os proposed constitutional amendments he termed "Citizens' Protection Amendments," to protect Texans from continuing abuses of eminent domain and toll roads. Van Os proposed that the power of eminent domain be limited to reasons of public security and safety. He also proposed that building new toll roads or converting existing public roads to toll roads should only occur if the citizens in the county where the road is to be built or converted approve through passage of voter referendums. He joined other Texan Democratic candidates such as Hank Gilbert, Fred Head, and Maria Luisa Alvarado in speaking out against the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor at public hearings in the summer of 2006. During his 2006 race for Attorney General of Texas, he vowed to fight for the people of Texas against the large monopolistic oil, insurance and media conglomerates, saying he'd "Fight them until hell freezes over and then fight them on the ice." Much of his funding for his 2006 campaign came from contributions of $20 to $100 from low to medium income donors who met him during his 254 county whistlestop campaign tour or read about him on the blogs. His opponent, Republican incumbent Greg Abbott entered the race with over six million dollars in his campaign war chest. As the Democratic nominee for attorney general, Van Os took his campaign directly to the people. He pledged to visit all 254 counties in Texas during the 2006 election cycle. With his wife, Rachel Barrios-Van Os, who served as his campaign manager, he visited each courthouse and spoke on the courthouse square. His last five whistlestop were in Tarrant County on October 16, Dallas County on October 17, Harris County on October 18, Travis County on October 19 and his home county of Bexar on October 20. Local supporters joined him on the courthouse steps as he proclaimed his determination to "return Texas government back to the people" denouncing the "bought and paid for perversion of the American political process." In Tarrant, truckdrivers passing on the street, acknowledged him by honking their horns when they saw the signs with his campaign message "Message