In a last-minute political maneuver, Fort Worth Democrat Marc Veasey is running for Tarrant County judge instead of reelection to Congress.<\/p>\n
Veasey, who was elected to the U.S. House in 2012, was expected to announce<\/a> he was running for District 30 after Texas\u2019 redrawn congressional maps pushed his current District 33 entirely into Dallas County. Many speculated he would seek Rep. Jasmine Crockett\u2019s District 30 seat as she announced plans to run for the U.S. Senate<\/a>.<\/p>\n He is set to face County Commissioner Alisa Simmons and business owner Lydia Bean in the March primary to determine the Democratic nominee. Republican incumbent Tim O\u2019Hare is seeking his second term and will face precinct chair Robert Buker in the primary election.\u00a0<\/p>\n Veasey\u2019s filing, minutes before the state\u2019s 6 p.m. deadline for candidates to file their candidacy for political office in the March primary<\/a>, was unexpected as political observers watched news around Crockett\u2019s drawn-out announcement, which she timed for late on the day of filing.<\/p>\n But drama came earlier in the day when Dallas minister Frederick Haynes III, leader of Friendship-West Baptist Church, entered the race for District 30. His mega-church has about 13,000 members, including Crockett.\u00a0<\/p>\n The twist of Veasey leaving Congress left political experts surprised.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was in a difficult situation,\u201d said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University. \u201cVeasey is associated with Tarrant County, and that\u2019s a Dallas-dominated district. He believed he would not have an advantage in the district and the African-American electorate would not support him but Haynes.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Veasey and Haynes are Black, and the district is predominantly Black.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, Haynes lives in the district while Veasey does not. District 30 largely covers much of southern Dallas County, which includes the church, and only a small portion includes Tarrant County.<\/p>\n \u201cCrockett, in some ways, put Veasey in a difficult situation,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n What will losing Veasey mean for Tarrant County in Congress?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll lose all that seniority, and he was one of the core Tarrant County representatives,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Jones said. \u201cTarrant County is now split up among multiple members who have to balance their focus.\u201d<\/p>\n Tarrant County judge\u00a0<\/p>\n Simmons announced Saturday that she is running for county judge.<\/a><\/p>\n The winner of the Democratic primary for the race will likely face incumbent Judge Tim O\u2019Hare<\/a>, who championed the redistricting effort and often clashed with Simmons during their tenure on the court.\u00a0<\/p>\n The county judge is one of five positions on the Tarrant County Commissioners Court, but the only one that all voters get to weigh in on. Four commissioners represent different areas of the county, or precincts, while the judge represents the county overall.<\/p>\n In addition to judge, the court\u2019s precincts 2 and 4, currently represented by Simmons and Republican Manny Ramirez, will be on next year\u2019s primary ballot. Those precincts have new boundaries after the GOP-majority commissioners court redrew the district map earlier this year<\/a> to make Simmons\u2019 precinct more favorable to conservative candidates.\u00a0<\/p>\n As of Monday afternoon, five candidates announced campaigns for Simmons\u2019 precinct: Democrat Amanda Arizola, co-founder of the nonprofit CoACT North Texas; Democrat Gabe Rivas, a former member of Simmons\u2019 county staff; Republican Lucila Seri, a precinct chair; Republican Tony Tinderholt, who represented the Arlington area in the Texas House for six terms; and Democrat Jared Williams, a former Fort Worth City Council member.<\/p>\n Republicans on the court have said the redistricting was intended to increase the court\u2019s GOP representation, while critics allege they racially gerrymandered the county by packing voters of color into one precinct. Two lawsuits that sought to bar the new precinct map from being used were both dropped or dismissed<\/a> earlier this month.\u00a0<\/p>\n The primary election is March 3, and early voting runs Feb. 17-27. The general election is set for Nov. 3. A roundup of Tarrant County candidates for the primary election is available here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n This is a breaking news story and will be updated frequently.<\/p>\n Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Maria Recio is a freelance reporter based in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n