Judge Tim O’Hare, left, speaks to Chairman John Goff during the groundbreaking of the Research and Innovation Building-A event in Fort Worth on Aug. 5, 2026.
Elvis Martinez-Cartagena
FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
Despite a strong showing from Democrats on the first few days of early voting, Republican County Judge Tim O’Hare is confident his party will win out on Nov. 3.
In the first three days of 2026 midterm early voting, Tarrant County voters exceeded the numbers from the last midterm in 2022.
At a Metroplex Republican Women club meeting Thursday, O’Hare said the Republican Party expected Democrats to outpace the GOP voters in the first few days. The Democrats turned out more than estimated, he said.
“What I think you’re going to see is you’re going to see us catching up over the next several days, and I think you’re going to see us pass, if we all do our part,” O’Hare said at a Republican club meeting. “And here’s the great news: I have never, and I haven’t been here as long as some of y’all, but I have never seen Republicans so engaged, so energetic, working together so well.”
O’Hare is running in one of the most prominent races in Tarrant County this election against Democrat challenger and commissioner Alisa Simmons. The two have dueled on commissioners court a multitude of times since they were elected to their seats in 2022.
“There has never been a sharper contrast between candidates for county judge ever in the history of this county, bar none,” O’Hare said Thursday.
He added that “the stakes have never been higher,” but many Republicans in the county aren’t aware of that. O’Hare raised alarm bells at a True Texas Project meeting in September, telling attendees his seat could flip blue.
The county party has been employing several outreach methods to contact low-propensity voters and remind them to go to the polls.
O’Hare said there are more Republicans in the county than there are Democrats, so the issue is one of turnout.
“If we don’t do our part, and we see Democrats take Tarrant County, you never get it back,” O’Hare said. “Dallas County never got it back. Harris County never got it back. Are we going to let that happen in Tarrant County? No way.”
This story was originally published October 22, 2026 at 6:43 PM.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Rachel Royster is a news and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, specifically focused on Tarrant County. She joined the newsroom after interning at the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Capital Community News in DC. A Houston native and Baylor grad, Rachel enjoys traveling, reading and being outside. She welcomes any and all news tips to her email.