A popular former Houston mayor announced Wednesday she’s entering the Harris County judge’s race, but Democrats are questioning Annise Parker’s allegiance to the party and some say she won’t win a primary if current County Judge Lina Hidalgo seeks a third term.
In her announcement at the Harris County Civil Courthouse, Parker, 69, criticized the Trump administration and Texas’ GOP leadership, saying she wants to keep the county safe, affordable, and thriving.
“Donald Trump is throwing millions of Americans off healthcare to fund tax cuts for billionaires — and gutting FEMA, which pays for our local response to hurricanes, flooding and major disasters,” Parker said in a press release. “Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick are at war with Harris County, at war with women and people of color, and at war with public education.”
It was a solid effort on Parker’s part to establish her standing as a Democrat, but the announcement came days after Parker appeared on a Houston morning show with former Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, who is under fire with local Democratic Party precinct chairs.
Party officials have criticized Ogg for targeting Democratic public officials and aligning herself with prominent Republicans. The Great Day Houston segment was about Pride Month, and Parker and Ogg spoke about holding public office as gay women.
Parker’s LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, where she has served as president and CEO since her last mayoral term, endorsed Ogg in the DA’s primary race against Sean Teare last year, which Teare won with an overwhelming majority.
Parker served as Houston mayor, a nonpartisan position, from 2010 to 2016. Hidalgo, also a Democrat, has not announced whether she’ll seek a third term as county judge. The filing deadline is in December.
“Lina will whoop Annise in a primary if [Hidalgo] stays in,” a Harris County Democratic Party member said in a text message to the Houston Press. “Lina’s Black support remains through the roof. Annise will get money and centrist support but still lose in a primary.”
Not so fast, says Nancy Sims, a political science lecturer at the University of Houston. Parker will draw support from many women, the LGBTQ+ community and progressives who voted for her in the past.
“Annise has a very good chance,” Sims said. “She’s not always been identified as strongly Democratic Party. We have to remember that the people who will vote in this race for the nominee are the most ardent partisans. She’s going to have to really get out there and prove her Democratic credentials to win the primary. She’s going to have to build outside the city limits to reach those Democrats who don’t know her.”
But Parker’s recent TV appearance with Ogg puts her at a disadvantage, Sims added.
“That does not help because the Democratic Party is really angry at Kim Ogg, as evidenced by her last primary election,” she said.
The Harris County judge’s race will be watched closely across Texas and potentially the nation, Sims said.
“It’s going to be an exciting race in the Democratic primary,” Sims said. “If Lina’s running again, the two of them will face off. If not, there will probably be other people who hop into the race.”
Thus far just one Republican, Piney Point Village Mayor Aliza Dutt, has filed to run for county judge.
Sims acknowledged the Harris County Democrats’ staunch allegiance to Hidalgo and said it’s due in part to her being the first Democrat county judge “in a long time.”
“That made her popular with Democrats,” Sims said. “She was a young, bright Latina, and the people in the Democratic Party are fond of her. They do love her for bringing up things like the Uplift program that they see as progressive and exciting.”
Hidalgo has been open about her diagnosis of clinical depression and took a leave of absence in 2023 for a seven-week inpatient program. Lately she’s drawn criticism for leaving meetings in progress, expressing emotion and arguing with county commissioners, mostly over money.
HIdalgo is currently in Paris to promote Houston as a global innovation hub. Commissioners Court rejected her request for $23,000 to cover security on the trip and Hidalgo said she’d pay for it herself using campaign finances, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Sims said leading the third-largest county in the United States is a tall order and she has no prediction at this time of who will win the race, especially since the ballot is not finalized. The Harris County judge’s salary is about $191,000.
“Leading Harris County gives you a national stage,” Sims said. “It’s also often in national news for a variety of reasons. It’s one of the most diverse counties in the country and the leadership that can come out of this county and this state can affect policy around the country.”
