At a recent Harris County Democratic Party fundraiser, a precinct chair turned to his business colleagues, pointed out former Houston Mayor Annise Parker across the room and said, “Let’s go talk to her. She’s going to be our next county judge.”
The statement itself wasn’t unusual. Parker has raised almost half a million dollars, has key endorsements from labor unions and elected officials, and, by all accounts, is expected to secure the Democratic Party’s nomination on March 3. The statement was surprising, however, because the man who said it helped launch the campaign of Parker’s primary challenger, former Houston City Council member Letitia Plummer, in July.
But while some Democrats appear to be disappointed in Plummer’s efforts on the campaign trail and her projected inability to win, they continue to support her due to concerns about Parker’s alliances with former District Attorney Kim Ogg and Mayor John Whitmire, both of whom were admonished by the party for not espousing Democratic values.
Thus far, the county judge’s race has not been about roads and bridges or minimizing a budget deficit. It’s about which Democratic candidate is the most progressive and whether a Republican can take back the seat.
The six GOP candidates haven’t received anywhere close to the level of publicity that Parker and Plummer have, but that primary is also shaping up to be a contentious one.
A poll released Tuesday by the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs shows Parker leading Plummer in the Democratic primary by a 21 percentage point margin (46 percent to 25 percent). The same poll shows that most Republican primary voters are undecided but about 21 percent intend to vote for Orlando Sanchez and 10 percent will cast ballots for Marty Lancton.
Early voting began Tuesday and runs through February 27. The winners of the March 3 primaries will face off in November.
Parker Vs. Plummer
When Parker announced her bid for county judge in June, incumbent Lina Hidalgo hadn’t yet said whether she’d seek a third term, so many withheld their support for Parker until September, when Hidalgo said she wouldn’t run again, said University of Houston political science lecturer Nancy Sims.
“I would say Annise Parker is sitting in the driver’s seat,” Sims said. “I would definitely give Parker the advantage, but with the quirky turnout patterns, you can’t be certain. I used to say when [Parker] ran for mayor the first time, ‘If you want your mayor to be a city manager, she’s the one.’ I still think that about her. She’s a good administrator. She’d be a good county judge.”
Hidalgo, a Democrat who was elected at age 27 and viewed at the time as the future of the party, has had a challenging second term with many public outbursts and arguments with fellow commissioners. In August, three of the four commissioners voted to censure her for unprofessional behavior during a debate over funding for early childhood programs.
The county judge, whose term ends in December, made it clear that she won’t be voting for Parker in the primary but stopped short of endorsing Plummer. “Harris County simply can’t afford another power player who treats the role like a political chessboard, another individual who runs on the Democratic ticket and governs as a Republican,” Hidalgo said in a December statement.
“Annise Parker heartily endorsed and hosted fundraisers for Kim Ogg, even after it was clear that there was no substance behind her attacks on county employees that cost taxpayers millions of dollars,” Hidalgo said. “She will follow John Whitmire’s playbook, capitulating to Donald Trump and [Texas Governor] Greg Abbott. We do not need another John Whitmire, [or] another Kim Ogg. There is another option in our Democratic primary for county judge.”
Parker said at the Texas Tribune’s TribFest in November that she’s not the “Whitmire whisperer.”
“He obviously doesn’t listen to me,” she said, referencing a conversation she had with the mayor about the state-ordered removal of rainbow crosswalks in which she suggested Whitmire create a banner district in Montrose as a compromise. Parker also has said that Harris County government is completely dysfunctional — referring to the contentious commissioners court atmosphere she says Hidalgo fostered — and she’ll rely on her experience as a former city controller, council member and mayor to lead Harris County.
“People want a champion,” she said. “I started out as a lesbian activist in the 1970s. I’m not afraid of anybody, and I’m not afraid of taking unpopular positions. I believe in good trouble. I just don’t think you pick stupid fights.”
Plummer, a dentist, has served as an at-large member of the Houston City Council since 2019. According to campaign literature, her priorities include expanding public health capacity, investing in flood control, supporting small businesses and strengthening environmental standards. She’s raised $118,000 and secured endorsements from the Harris County Young Democrats, Lone Star Left and Houston Progressive Caucus.
Anthony Rios, co-founder of the Houston Progressive Caucus, said it was important for the organization to support Plummer.
“A lot of people have kind of written her off because Annise Parker is such an established figure in Houston politics,” Rios said. “We saw it as important to support [Plummer] because Annise Parker has had a long history in Harris County politics and is part of the moderate consensus style of politics. She’s not a Whitmire, for example, but she’s not a progressive.”
Michelle Davis, a Houston-based political commentator and publisher of the Lone Star Left newsletter, said Plummer represents progress and the future, while Parker represents the “old guard.”
“Dr. Letitia Plummer understands how power actually operates right now,” Davis wrote in her blog. “Harris County doesn’t get to choose the political climate in which it operates. That decision gets made elsewhere, and they live with the consequences. In calm times, you elect administrators. In volatile times, you elect defenders. This is a volatile time.”
Last year, Plummer pushed for a tenant-protection initiative to hold landlords accountable for unsafe housing conditions through inspections, enforcement and potential penalties, with the goal of improving living conditions for Houston renters. She also led the charge to limit how the Houston Police Department interacts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Neither proposal passed as an ordinance, but the apartment measure is under review by the city’s legal department.
Plummer gave up her council seat to run for judge, and Alejandra Salinas was elected to fill the unexpired term. Sims said Plummer is a viable candidate who has been elected to a citywide council seat and is popular among her constituents.
A third candidate is in the Democratic primary, business owner Matthew Salazar.
Republican Candidates
Six Republicans are on the ballot in the county judge’s race, including Piney Point Village Mayor Aliza Dutt; former sheriff’s deputy Oscar Gonzales; insurance businessman Warren Howell; business owner George Zoes; Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association president Marty Lancton; and former Harris County treasurer Orlando Sanchez.
Sanchez and Lancton appear to be the frontrunners in the GOP primary. While Lancton was hailed by Republican leaders when he announced his candidacy in August, some members of the firefighters union came forward earlier this week, saying Lancton’s leadership style fosters a culture of fear and retaliation.
A few firefighters said they were removed from union committees and ostracized when they raised questions about the group’s finances or tried to have Lancton removed as their leader.
Lancton’s attorney has said that the allegations were made by disgruntled former union members with vendettas against Lancton. The accusations against the union leader became public two days before early voting began, leading some to suggest that Sanchez’s camp was circling the wagons in an effort to secure the nomination.
Lancton supporter and attorney Tony Buzbee, who made unsuccessful bids for Houston mayor and city council in 2019 and 2023, suggested on X that local media wants Sanchez to win the primary because he’s the easier candidate for Parker to beat in November.
But the UH Hobby School poll, conducted between February 3 and 10, already showed Sanchez with a strong lead, although many Republican voters remain undecided in the judge’s race.
Lancton has outraised his opponents with about $500,000 in his coffers, according to campaign finance reports filed last month. Republican Governor Abbott endorsed Lancton as part of his effort to turn Harris County “dark red” in this year’s midterm elections.
Sanchez, however, offers experience and vision, according to his supporters. The U.S. Air Force veteran and Cuban immigrant says he’s dedicated his life to serving both his country and community. In 1995, he was the first Latino immigrant elected to a citywide office in Houston when he won an at-large council member seat. He served seven years on city council and 12 years as county treasurer.
Sims said Sanchez remains popular among Republican civic groups. “Don’t underestimate him,” she said. The professor added that a Republican could definitely win in November.
“Harris County is up for grabs in 2026,” she said. “Harris County is sitting at 50-50 red versus blue, so the side that can organize the best and turn out their people will win the general election. You have to factor in that Greg Abbott has pledged to drop $25 million [in Harris County]. I don’t think the Democrats can match that.”