{"id":189680,"date":"2026-03-04T07:13:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T07:13:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/189680\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T07:13:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T07:13:19","slug":"democrat-nydia-cardenas-looks-to-face-republican-manny-ramirez-for-northwest-tarrant-commissioners-seat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/189680\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrat Nydia C\u00e1rdenas looks to face Republican Manny Ramirez for northwest Tarrant commissioners seat"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"&quot;byline&quot;\">by Drew Shaw, Fort Worth Report <br \/>March 4, 2026<\/p>\n<p>Editor\u2019s note: This story will be updated throughout Tuesday night as election results become available.<\/p>\n<p>Nydia C\u00e1rdenas appeared to secure the Democratic nomination to face Republican incumbent Manny Ramirez in the race to represent the northwest area of Tarrant County on the commissioners court, according to unofficial results from Tarrant County.<\/p>\n<p>As of 12:30 a.m., C\u00e1rdenas, a leadership coach and grassroots activist, had about 59% of the votes in the three-way primary race for Precinct 4. Cedric Kanyinda, who owns a consulting business, followed with 24% of the vote, leaving Perla Bojorquez, an educator and community organizer, with about 18%.<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" src=\"https:\/\/flo.uri.sh\/visualisation\/27883954\/embed#?secret=gug6n5WNIh\" data-secret=\"gug6n5WNIh\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" height=\"575\" width=\"700\"><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p>The race to represent Precinct 4, which covers Fort Worth\u2019s northside up through Lake Worth, Saginaw and Azle, will be decided in November. Ramirez, who was elected in 2022, ran unopposed for the GOP nomination.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s call this the easy part,\u201d said C\u00e1rdenas, surrounded by bright balloons and colorful campaign graphics in front of a room of about 75 people at 9 p.m. Tuesday night.<\/p>\n<p>C\u00e1rdenas, a Fort Worth native, told the Report that she plans to scale up the strong momentum she and her team have built heading toward November. She said she\u2019s excited to expand her base through continued voting engagement efforts and events.<\/p>\n<p>To her, the primary win signals that Democratic voters want to support an openly progressive campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur strategy is not to try to get Republicans to vote for us in November,\u201d C\u00e1rdenas said. \u201cOur goal is to get the people who are already aligned with us but aren\u2019t active voters out to vote in November. And I think that the only way to do that is to be very clear about what our values are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260302_Nydia-Cardenas-3-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-433216\"\/>Nydia C\u00e1rdenas prepares for a picture with family and supporters during her Democratic primary election watch party at Azle Hall in Fort Worth\u2019s northside on March 3, 2026. (Drew Shaw | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n<p>Precinct 4 historically votes red, with Ramirez winning the seat by about 18 percentage points in 2022. Democrats hope they can flip the seat by mobilizing more voters, particularly in Hispanic and Latino communities, and carrying forward momentum from <a href=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/02\/02\/does-democratic-win-spell-trouble-for-tarrant-countys-gop\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Taylor Rehmet\u2019s Texas Senate upset win<\/a> on Jan. 31 in Senate District 9, which covers much of north and west Tarrant County and overlaps with Precinct 4.<\/p>\n<p>In a trend that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/02\/25\/texas-early-voting-turnout-democrats-midterm-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">mirrors one statewide<\/a>, unofficial results show Tuesday\u2019s Tarrant County Democratic primary saw historic turnout during early voting. Over 122,000 people voted early in the Democratic primary \u2014 nearly 3.5 times the 35,337 that voted early in the 2022 primary. The GOP saw nearly 91,700 early voters compared to 67,557 in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>After C\u00e1rdenas took the lead, Kanyinda told the Report that he supports her moving forward. He feels he had a \u201cstrong base\u201d of voters and will \u201ccontinue to fight the good fight\u201d he started when he first ran for election in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Bojorquez did not respond to requests for comment on election night. She previously told the Report she was not \u201cgoing into this as partisan games\u201d or to \u201ctwist the court more left.\u201d Rather, her priority was to save taxpayer dollars by pushing back against what she sees as mismanagement from the Republicans on the court.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>C\u00e1rdenas previously said at the Fort Worth Report\u2019s Feb. 12 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QTZNlhzxbCU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Democratic Primary Election forum<\/a> that her deep connections to Tarrant County\u2019s communities will help mobilize and win over enough voters to flip the seat in November. She noted her campaign\u2019s proven ability to fundraise, arguing that money will be necessary in the lead-up to November.<\/p>\n<p>She reported raising and spending far more than her opponents in the Democratic primary race, with small individual donations making up most of her funds.<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" src=\"https:\/\/flo.uri.sh\/visualisation\/27816171\/embed#?secret=KzjAQNuidL\" data-secret=\"KzjAQNuidL\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" height=\"575\" width=\"700\"><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p>Ramirez, the incumbent, reported having $244,688 in cash on hand in the most recent campaign finance reports, said he\u2019s looking forward to running in November. He said he \u201cwelcome(s) anybody who wants to introduce ideas into a campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTaylor Rehmet showed us that we don\u2019t have to outraise, but we have to at least have enough money to really combat,\u201d C\u00e1rdenas said Feb. 12.<\/p>\n<p>While the three Democrats differed slightly in priorities over their campaigns, they broadly supported investing in the county\u2019s infrastructure and re-funding county-run programs that have been trimmed down or eliminated by the commissioners court\u2019s Republican majority.<\/p>\n<p>C\u00e1rdenas argued that her career in leadership coaching and education in mechanical engineering honed her critical thinking skills. Her campaign was advised and backed by members of prominent local progressive groups, including the <a href=\"https:\/\/817podcast.buzzsprout.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">817 Podcast<\/a> \u2014 a grassroots organization focused on Tarrant County \u2014 and <a href=\"https:\/\/seeitnameitfightit.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">See It Name It Fight It<\/a>, a local organization formed to understand and fight \u201cthe ideology of Christian nationalism.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA year ago, I started attending commissioners court meetings and seeing absolutely the decision-making that does not lead to good decisions, that doesn\u2019t follow good research practices around decision-making,\u201d C\u00e1rdenas said at the Report\u2019s forum.<\/p>\n<p>Changing the court\u2019s culture was also top of mind for the primary candidates, after a year of high-profile, Republican-led changes to Tarrant County, including <a href=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2025\/06\/03\/tarrant-county-commissioners-vote-3-2-to-redistrict-adopting-more-republican-friendly-map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">redistricting precinct maps<\/a> to better favor the GOP in Precinct 2; <a href=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2025\/08\/19\/tarrant-county-commissioners-cut-100-plus-polling-sites-reduce-early-voting-locations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">cutting voting locations<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/02\/10\/new-rules-limit-public-speaking-discussion-topics-at-tarrant-county-commissioners-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">limiting how many times residents can address commissioners<\/a> during meetings; and reducing meetings to once a month.<\/p>\n<p>These decisions and others have led to routine party-line votes and arguments flaring up across the dais.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On the campaign trail, C\u00e1rdenas said Tarrant County Judge Tim O\u2019Hare\u2019s recent <a href=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2025\/09\/22\/tarrant-county-commissioners-pass-tax-rates-after-democrats-broke-quorum-last-week\/#:~:text=.-,The%20rules%20say%20four%20commissioners%20need%20to%20be%20present%20to,a%3E%20for%20Simmons&#039;%20precinct.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">cutting of Democratic commissioners\u2019 office budgets and staff<\/a> was a catalyst triggering her candidacy. She said she\u2019s watched the court\u2019s Republicans become increasingly divisive over \u201cculture war topics\u201d and partisan issues, and she wants to refocus the court on \u201cthe actual functioning of the government.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Improving northwest Tarrant County\u2019s infrastructure, especially roadways, was another shared priority of the candidates. The county is responsible for constructing, maintaining and repairing roads, particularly in unincorporated areas that lie outside of city limits.<\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/candid-conversation-growth-summit-2025-1-million-counting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Fort Worth\u2019s population boom<\/a> ripples into surrounding cities and unincorporated areas, new subdivisions, schools and stores are quickly filling the once-sprawling ranchland. Increased traffic can now create hourlong logjams like <a href=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2025\/10\/07\/behemoth-of-a-project-planned-to-ease-bonds-ranch-road-congestion-in-far-north-fort-worth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">those along Bonds Ranch Road<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>All three candidates mentioned that more accountability and transparency are needed in the Tarrant County jail, which has undergone scrutiny for having <a href=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2025\/09\/04\/tarrant-county-sheriff-refuses-to-give-briefings-requested-by-commissioner-simmons-on-jail-deaths\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">more than 70 in-custody deaths since 2017<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>C\u00e1rdenas said her campaign has and will continue to focus on voter engagement, primarily through phone-banking, door-knocking and public events.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe just have to keep earning people\u2019s trust, proving that what we\u2019re talking about is actually possible if you have the right leaders in place,\u201d she said. \u201cI think sometimes what feels like a progressive agenda feels out of reach, but it\u2019s only out of reach because we don\u2019t have the people on the dais to make those to vote in that way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Drew Shaw is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/shawlings601\" rel=\"nofollow\">@shawlings601<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy <a href=\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/about\/fort-worth-report-editorial-independence-policy\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This &lt;a target=&#8221;_blank&#8221; href=&#8221;https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/03\/04\/3-democrats-on-primary-ballot-to-represent-northwest-tarrant-county-on-commissioners-court\/&#8221;&gt;article&lt;\/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&#8221;_blank&#8221; href=&#8221;https:\/\/fortworthreport.org&#8221;&gt;Fort Worth Report&lt;\/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&#8221;_blank&#8221; href=&#8221;https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/&#8221;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;\/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&#8221;https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;quality=80&amp;amp;ssl=1&#8243; style=&#8221;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&#8221;&gt;<\/p>\n<p>&lt;img id=&#8221;republication-tracker-tool-source&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=431436&amp;amp;ga4=2820184429&#8243; style=&#8221;width:1px;height:1px;&#8221;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &#8220;https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/03\/04\/3-democrats-on-primary-ballot-to-represent-northwest-tarrant-county-on-commissioners-court\/&#8221;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;\/script&gt; &lt;script id=&#8221;parsely-cfg&#8221; src=&#8221;\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/fortworthreport.org\/p.js&#8221;&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by Drew Shaw, Fort Worth Report March 4, 2026 Editor\u2019s note: This story will be updated throughout Tuesday&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189681,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[19470,288,116,118,117,10233,39871],"class_list":{"0":"post-189680","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-commissioners-court","9":"tag-elections","10":"tag-fort-worth","11":"tag-fort-worth-headlines","12":"tag-fort-worth-news","13":"tag-primary-election","14":"tag-tarrant-county-commissioners-court"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}