Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker secured the most votes in the Democratic primary for Harris County judge but fell slightly short of the 50 percent-plus requirement, sending her to a runoff with former Houston City Council member Letitia Plummer.
A similar scenario played out on the GOP side as former Harris County Treasurer Orlando Sanchez and insurance businessman Warren Howell will face off again in May. The Republican primary proved to be an upset for Marty Lancton, the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association president who was endorsed by Gov. Greg Abbott and considered in early polls to be a frontrunner. Lancton came in third.
Parker, by far the top vote-getter in both primaries, said Wednesday morning she had hoped to avoid a runoff but she’s ready to continue the campaign and restock her war chest.
“If you had talked to me before early voting started, I was confident I could win this without a runoff,” she said. “When that surge of nontraditional primary voters started showing up, nobody was messaging them and nobody was polling them. The third candidate in my race was essentially a ghost candidate — no endorsements, no money, no campaign, just a name on a ballot. He did well and pulled me into a runoff. Now it’s just a matter of keeping the campaign going. I don’t see any way my remaining opponent can catch up.”
With all precincts reporting around 8 a.m. Wednesday, Parker got 155,688 votes, or 46.62 percent. Plummer got 124,514 votes, or 37.29 percent. A third candidate, business owner Matt Salazar, got 53,724 votes, or 16 percent.
Six candidates faced off in the Republican primary. Sanchez got 47,397 votes, or 26.46 percent. Howell earned 37,242 votes, or 20.79 percent. Lancton got 36,861 votes, or 20.57 percent.
The Harris County judge oversees a $4 billion budget and presides over commissioners court. The county judge earns about $191,000 per year and is elected to a four-year term.
Until recently, the post was held by a Republican for decades. Robert Eckels served from 1995 to 2007 and was succeeded by Ed Emmett, also a Republican, from 2007 to 2019. Current judge Lina Hidalgo was the first woman and first Latina to hold the office. Hidalgo, a Democrat, did not seek a third term. She didn’t make an endorsement but said publicly she wasn’t supporting Parker.
The general election in November is anybody’s game, said University of Houston political science lecturer Nancy Sims.
“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,” Sims told the Houston Press last month. “You have to factor in that [Gov.] Greg Abbott has pledged to drop $25 million [in Harris County]. I don’t think the Democrats can match that.”
Parker, 69, is a well-known political figure in Harris County, having served as city controller, a city council member, and a three-term mayor. She was one of the first openly gay mayors of a major U.S. city. Some have said, however, that she’s not a true Democrat, due to her perceived alliances with former District Attorney Kim Ogg and Houston Mayor John Whitmire, both of whom have been admonished by the party.
Parker said Wednesday she’s not worried about what her critics are saying.
“You had the opportunity to watch me in local government for 18 years,” she said. “I’ve never been anything but a Democrat but I was in a nonpartisan position and you had the opportunity to watch how I operated. I’m not a different person than I was as mayor. In this current environment, we Democrats need to lock arms and hang together. With this surge of voters and the enthusiasm for the Democratic ticket, we don’t need to point fingers at each other. We need to start talking about what Donald Trump and Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick are doing to our state and our country.”
Plummer, 55, won the endorsement of the Harris County Young Democrats, Lone Star Left and Houston Progressive Caucus. It’s been said that she represents new energy rather than the “old guard.” Her campaign literature identifies her priorities as expanding public health capacity, investing in flood control, supporting small businesses and strengthening environmental standards.
Sanchez, 68, is a U.S. Air Force veteran and Cuban immigrant who 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 a council member at large seat. He served seven years on city council and 12 years as county treasurer.
Howell, 75, is an Air Force veteran who calls himself “a conservative leader dedicated to law, order, fiscal responsibility, and building safer communities.”
Regardless of who wins in November, it appears they have some work to do to win back public trust.
A February poll conducted by the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs found that 32 percent of Democratic voters and 25 percent of Republican voters believe that things in Harris County are headed in the right direction. Half of the Democrat respondents said they believe Harris County is on the wrong track; 62 percent of Republicans were of the same opinion.