Dominic Walsh/HPM
Orlando Sanchez at Picos in Upper Kirby on March 3, 2026.
Orlando Sanchez and Marty Lancton were the top two candidates after early voting in the Republican primary for Harris County judge, which appeared headed toward a runoff.
In the Democratic primary, Annise Parker led Letitia Plummer after early voting as neither had garnered more than 50% of the vote. The two primary winners will compete in the November general election.
The likely GOP runoff, slated for May 26, could pit an experienced office holder against a prominent labor leader.
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Sanchez, who held 25.95% of the early vote, served as an at-large member of the non-partisan Houston City Council from 1996 through 2000 before filling the Harris County Treasurer’s role as a Republican in 2007. After more than a decade in office, he was swept out of county government in the 2018 blue wave along with former Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. Sanchez subsequently fell short in two bids for the City Controller’s office in 2019 and 2023.
Lancton, a first-time office-seeker who garnered 22.35% of the early vote, became union president of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association in 2016 — the first year of a protracted fight with the city of Houston over a new contract. Continuing through the late Mayor Sylvester Turner’s two terms in office, the dispute was resolved in a blockbuster deal under Mayor John Whitmire in 2024. During and after the contract battle, Lancton used his megaphone to criticize Turner and praise Whitmire.
Aliza Dutt was third after early voting with 20.25% of the vote. Warren A. Howell was fourth with 19.96%.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to wield his more than $100 million campaign war chest in an effort to “win Harris County and make Harris County dark red.” He endorsed Lancton, but his campaign hadn’t yet backed the candidate financially as of the most recent finance reporting period.
Lancton raised more than $500,000 in his bid for the seat – outpacing Parker, the leading Democratic fundraiser in the race, according to recent campaign finance reports.
Sanchez raised $113,000 in the latest campaign finance reporting period.
Houston Public Media’s Sarah Grunau contributed to this report.