<\/p>\n
Democrat Commissioner Alisa Simmons and Republican incumbent Tim O\u2019Hare are opponents in the race for Tarrant County judge. Election Day is Nov. 3, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives<\/p>\n
Walk into any protest, club meeting or Commissioners Court public comment session with a large Democratic presence in Tarrant County, and you\u2019re sure to hear about their poster child for the November election: Alisa Simmons.<\/p>\n
The 63-year-old activist-turned-politician from Arlington has served parts of southern Tarrant County as commissioner for the past three and a half years. After Republicans piloted a redistricting effort to make it harder for a Democrat to win<\/a> her seat, Simmons set her sights<\/a> on county judge. The post is held by Republican Tim O\u2019Hare of Southlake.<\/p>\n Where Simmons is the victor of the Tarrant County Democrats, O\u2019Hare is the villain. Hyper-engaged Democrats regard her as their spokeswoman on the majority-Republican Commissioners Court.<\/p>\n Some Commissioners Court regulars have nicknamed O\u2019Hare \u201cO\u2019Hate\u201d and the \u201ctyrant\u201d of Tarrant County. One woman who has attended more recently says Simmons over-politicizes decisions to help her political ambitions.<\/p>\n The bickering between O\u2019Hare and Simmons is a fixture of nearly every Commissioners Court meeting and now, their contest for the top seat in the county.<\/p>\n O\u2019Hare has the upper hand financially, having out-raised Simmons nearly 10-to-1<\/a>, and has a record of leading the charge for tax cuts. But the Tarrant Democratic base seems to be more determined to win the county seat.<\/p>\n Tarrant County is frequently touted by conservatives as the largest red urban county in the nation, but Democrats have teased that the county is bound to flip in their favor. Whichever party comes out on top in the county judge race could determine if Tarrant is red, blue or purple.<\/p>\n As Election Day draws near, Republicans\u2019 unease at the safety of O\u2019Hare\u2019s seat raises the question: is the push for a Democratic county judge fueled by a love of Simmons or a loathing of the current leader? And is this the year Democrats take Tarrant County?<\/p>\n Democrats’ disdain for O\u2019Hare<\/p>\n Three things are at play in the support for Simmons, Tarrant County Democratic Party Chair Allison Campolo said. Two of those fall on the shoulders of O\u2019Hare.<\/p>\n The first she noted was that there are significant consequences for O\u2019Hare\u2019s time on the dais.<\/p>\n With O\u2019Hare at the helm, the county has redistricted, gone from meeting four times to once a month, privatized rent and utility assistance, reduced the number of polling locations, and seen a steady stream of jail inmate deaths continue.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are real political repercussions that bother people in real time because it affects their lives in a big negative way,\u201d Campolo said.<\/p>\n The second piece is how O\u2019Hare conducts the Commissioners Court meetings.<\/p>\n \u201cHe instituted these crazy rules of decorum, which I\u2019m not sure are totally compliant<\/a> with the First Amendment,\u201d Campolo said. \u201cLike it goes on and on with just the way he socially runs his courtroom and makes it hard for the community to interact with Commissioners Court.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Hare has ejected over a dozen people from the monthly meetings for disruptions in 2026, two of whom were arrested and face criminal charges.<\/p>\n \u201cContrary to what some of you may think, I have no interest whatsoever in throwing people out of a room,\u201d O\u2019Hare said at the Aug. 4 meeting when he told the public to clear the chambers<\/a> because of their continual disruptions. \u201cI have no interest whatsoever in having any disruptions. But if we have more disruptions, we\u2019re going to do it again. We\u2019re going to clear it out. Why don\u2019t we all avoid that?\u201d<\/p>\n The third leg, Campolo said, is that Simmons is \u201ca stunning candidate.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven when it was outside of her commissioner precinct, even when she wasn\u2019t running for judge, she went to bat for people all over the county,\u201d Campolo said. \u201cAnd you know, people see that this commissioner is always standing up for them, always offering any amendment, anything that\u2019s going to be passed, offering any comment, offering any expertise, asking the community to come and participate in government, which is the absolute antithesis of Tim O\u2019Hare.\u201d<\/p>\n Though there have been regular attendees at Commissioners Court for years, a growing number of people in alignment with Simmons are becoming frequent flyers. They often register to speak in public comment, host rallies about upcoming court deliberations and hold signs shaming the Republican majority\u2019s decisions.<\/p>\n Steven Lawrence, a Tarrant County resident who considers himself independent of political parties, said the county is \u201cunder siege\u201d and O\u2019Hare is the figurehead. Lawrence only recently began attending Commissioners Court regularly, but believes it imperative for \u201cnormal people\u201d to step up and get involved in local politics.<\/p>\n His request for the 2027 county judge is \u201cjust to listen to citizens and let them speak in public \u2014 and that appears to be a big ask right now.\u201d Lawrence supports Simmons because he believes she will follow the Constitution and keep the county out of frivolous lawsuits.<\/p>\n Simmons said more residents have tapped into the meetings because of the decisions coming from the dais.<\/p>\n \u201cI think people have started to realize the importance of local government, particularly county government,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cThis Commissioners Court has made some very harmful decisions over the course of the past three and a half, four years.\u201d<\/p>\n The people want someone who will listen and be responsive to them, Simmons said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf elected, when elected, I look forward to continuing to work with the taxpayers,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not hard that the people elected you to their seats, and so that\u2019s who you take your orders from.\u201d<\/p>\n Campolo expects to see quite a few Republicans cast their ballot in favor of Democrats in the county judge race. She pointed to the fact that many Republicans and independents sign up for public comment and speak about varying issues Democrats also have problems with.<\/p>\n Namely, they mention that public comment time has shrunk from what it once was and how inaccessible the meetings are for working people. Commissioners Court meetings are on the second Tuesday of the month at 10 a.m. and can go on for the majority of the work day.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s as inconvenient as possible, and a lot of Republicans, independents, and libertarians really detest that,\u201d Campolo said. \u201cIt really is totally antithetical to the way they feel government should be run. And then we\u2019ve seen other things, whether it be polling locations or the mid-decade gerrymander.\u201d<\/p>\n Recently, there have been a few more Republicans showing up to support O\u2019Hare and the Republican commissioners, but those aligned with Simmons typically outnumber them.<\/p>\n Campolo said as the party has been out door-knocking and connecting with voters, it has learned many are already aware of the county judge race because of the decisions that have been made.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are candidates running, precinct chairs signed up and volunteers engaged who specifically got activated as a negative reaction to Tim O\u2019Hare. I came back as county chair as a reaction to Tim O\u2019Hare,\u201d Campolo said. \u201cHe has driven so many people into the arms of the Democratic Party, I should send him a gift basket.\u201d<\/p>\n The Republican focus<\/p>\n Although James Talarico has energized the base during his campaign for U.S. Senate, the Tarrant County Democratic Party has been driving engagement to down ballot candidates with the mindset that anyone going to the polls to vote for Simmons will likely vote for Talarico.<\/p>\n At a True Texas Project meeting earlier this month, O\u2019Hare was sounding the alarms, worried about the safety of his seat. But many of the conversations surrounding the election at Republican events seem to be dominated by how to fend off Talarico from winning the Senate seat.<\/p>\n At O\u2019Hare\u2019s fall campaign kick off, keynote speaker and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas spent the majority of his time on stage<\/a> discussing the threat Texas faces if Talarico wins in November.<\/p>\n In his initial campaign for county judge in 2022, O\u2019Hare won by a somewhat close margin. He defeated Democrat and now-Fort Worth council member Deborah Peoples by 6 percentage points. Before leading the county, O\u2019Hare was chair of the Tarrant County Republican Party and mayor of Farmer Branch in Dallas County.<\/p>\n Some of his supporters at the fall event said they weren\u2019t sure O\u2019Hare would come out on top again.<\/p>\n Danny Reynolds, a Republican, has known O\u2019Hare personally since he led the 2020 effort against diversity, equity and inclusion<\/a> in the Southlake Carroll school district. Reynolds thinks electing Simmons would be a huge step back for the county but said he can only hope Republicans turn out to vote.<\/p>\n Donna Hancock thinks Simmons is a \u201ccomplete nut job\u201d and vowed to vote O\u2019Hare into the county judge seat every time he\u2019s willing to do the job. But she agrees with Reynolds\u2019 concern that there may not be enough energy in the Republican\u2019s base to reelect him while the Democrats seem to have an unwavering determination.<\/p>\n O\u2019Hare is campaigning for reelection on the slogan \u201cpromises made, promises kept.\u201d He vowed in 2022 to cut property taxes by 20%<\/a>, support law enforcement and ensure integrity in elections.<\/p>\n While he\u2019s been in office, the property tax rate has fallen from 22.4 cents to 18.6 cents<\/a> per $100 valuation. The commissioners also added a homestead exemption of 20%, the state maximum. Law enforcement officers employed by the county have received pay raises.<\/p>\n There have been no cases of widespread voter fraud<\/a> in Tarrant County before or since O\u2019Hare\u2019s election.<\/p>\n O\u2019Hare wants to continue to lower property taxes, keep Tarrant the safest large county in Texas and prioritize transportation funding. He alleged if Simmons wins, the residents will see taxes rise and more crime and homelessness across the county.<\/p>\n Simmons\u2019s campaign pillars are public safety, healthcare, help for low-income families and open, responsible government. She voted for tax cuts until she felt the budget reductions had gone past cutting fat<\/a> and began digging into the bone.<\/p>\n All eyes on Tarrant County<\/p>\n The race between Simmons and O\u2019Hare is about more than just Tarrant County taxes and popularity of the county judge.<\/p>\n There are a handful of Texas counties critical to the 2026 election cycle, and Tarrant is among the top, University of Houston political science professor Brandon Rottinghaus said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a major test of whether Tarrant County is actually becoming blue like the rest of the big urban centers in Texas,\u201d Rottinghaus said. \u201cTarrant County is clearly no longer safely Republican, but countywide races are often a good test of partisan change because there\u2019s less national candidate baggage.\u201d<\/p>\n Because of how the election cycles are set up in Texas, county judges across the state are elected on even years without a presidential election. Thus, the races are not swayed by the wave of voters electing their presidential candidate of choice. Although President Donald Trump, in an effort to push turnout, told voters to pretend he\u2019s on the November ballot.<\/p>\n Tarrant County\u2019s race will also be a referendum on how the electorate likes O\u2019Hare\u2019s style of leading, not just Republican policies.<\/p>\n \u201cThis campaign will give voters a pretty clean choice between an aggressively-run ideological county government and Simmons\u2019s argument for a less partisan county administration,\u201d Rottinghaus said.<\/p>\n The fact that Simmons and O\u2019Hare frequently butt heads publicly makes the race even more compelling to onlookers, Rottinghaus said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s interesting to me because this is a race that pits these two candidates together who have political beef,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes there\u2019s no direct beef between two opponents, where you might run against someone because you have policy or ideological objections. Rarely is it personal.\u201d<\/p>\n Election Day is Nov. 3, and the results of the O\u2019Hare vs. Simmons brawl will depend on turnout, according to Rottinghaus.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a foot race to see who can get the most people to vote.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published October 7, 2026 at 5:00 AM.<\/p>\n![\"Tarrant](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FTW_543-AED_CommissionersCourt.JPG\" "\\"FTW_543-AED_CommissionersCourt.JPG\\"")
Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simmons joins protesters outside of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court chambers after they are kicked out on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026 in Fort Worth. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram <\/p>\n![\"Community](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FTW_17-AED_CommissionersCourt.JPG\" "\\"FTW_17-AED_CommissionersCourt.JPG\\"")
Community members hold up signs opposing the proposed cuts of voting sites on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026 in Fort Worth. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram <\/p>\n![\"County](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/FTW_02-AED_CommissionersCourt.JPG\" "\\"FTW_02-AED_CommissionersCourt.JPG\\"")
County Judge Tim O’Hare is pictured during the Tarrant County Commissioners Court on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026 in Fort Worth. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram <\/p>\n
![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791373332_120_RACHEL_ROYSTER.jpeg\")