Harris County, TX Judge: Lina Hidalgo immediately became one of the most prominent Democrats in Texas following her 2018 upset win to lead America’s third-largest county, but now a new poll shows the incumbent faces a tough race for a second term.
The survey, conducted by YouGov for the University of Houston, finds Hidalgo edging out Republican Alexandra del Moral Mealer just 46-44, though the same sample sees Democrat Beto O’Rourke prevailing by a larger 48-40 margin in his race to unseat Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. Joe Biden carried Harris County, which is home to most of the city of Houston and many of its suburbs, 56-43, the best performance for a Democratic presidential nominee since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
Four years ago, Hidalgo made history at the age of 27 when she unseated Republican County Judge Ed Emmett in a 50-48 squeaker. (In Texas, county judges are executive rather than judicial posts). Hidalgo, who was born in Colombia and came to Texas as a teenager, became both the first woman and Latina to hold this office, as well as the first Democrat to do so since 1974—a time when the Texas Democratic Party looked very different than it does today.
However, Hidalgo has had an especially difficult few months. District Attorney Kim Ogg, a fellow Democrat whom Hidalgo has clashed with repeatedly, indicted three of the judge’s top aides in April for allegedly directing an $11 million contract for a COVID vaccine outreach project to a preferred political consultant. Hidalgo’s legal team in turn has claimed that Ogg’s actions are politically and personally motivated, arguing, “Despite claiming to be a Democrat, Ogg has aligned herself with her former Republican colleagues in retaliation against Judge Hidalgo.”
The judge herself said in May that she’d “not seen anything to suggest that my team did anything but protect the people of Harris County.” Hidalgo has not been charged with any wrongdoing, but she also predicted on Twitter that month that Ogg would come after her. “I expect this political exercise to continue through Election Day,” Hidalgo wrote, continuing, “She’ll have me indicted. Or name a ‘special prosecutor’—an illusion of independence since those are still beholden to the DA.”
Republicans are hoping that Hidalgo's woes and the national political climate will give a lift to Mealer, a first-time candidate who has largely focused her campaign on concerns about crime and corruption. Mealer may also benefit from the end of straight-ticket voting in Texas, which legislative Republicans voted to do away with in 2017 starting with the 2020 cycle. Emmet, who was counting on crossover support, himself blamed the delay for his surprise defeat, tweeting one day after the 2018 election, “Keeping the straight ticket option for 1 more election cycle turned out to be a disaster for all Republicans. With the long ballot, more than 75% of voters chose to vote straight ticket, and the Democrats outvoted Republicans by more than 100K.”
Hidalgo’s camp, meanwhile, is pointing to her record during four sometimes turbulent years in office to make her case for re-election. “Lina Hidalgo has successfully led Harris County through chemical fires, floods, the winter freeze and a global pandemic,” her campaign has said, “all while overhauling how the county tackles flooding and making record-breaking investments in fighting crime and tackling homelessness.”