Mayor Gerard Hudspeth is serving his third and final term in office. But the end of his municipal run is on the horizon. He is expected to leave office in May 2026.
But he won鈥檛 be finished with politics.
In a Friday afternoon , Hudspeth announced he鈥檒l be throwing his gray cowboy hat into the ring against other conservative challengers in the primary race for Denton County Commissioners Court Precinct 4 next year.
鈥淲ith Denton County鈥檚 rapid growth, I believe we need energetic and innovative conservatives like me to keep delivering for our people,鈥� Hudspeth says in his post. 鈥淚鈥檓 asking for your support in the Republican Primary in March 2026 as I take on this new challenge to serve you.鈥�
Hudspeth didn鈥檛 respond to a request for comment by Tuesday evening.
County Commissioner Dianne Edmondson currently represents Precinct 4. The longtime chair of the Denton County Republican Party took office in 2018 and won reelection in 2022.
Edmondson also couldn鈥檛 be reached for comment Tuesday.
No Democrats serve on the Commissioners Court.
Precinct 4 , including the central, southern and western parts of the city of Denton, as well as the cities of Argyle, Krum, Ponder, Justin and Northlake and stretching down to northern Fort Worth and Roanoke.
A dozen comments followed Hudspeth鈥檚 Friday announcement, offering support for Hudspeth, who stressed that as Denton鈥檚 mayor 鈥� a nonpartisan position 鈥� he has 鈥渃hampioned conservative policies and stood firm against the woke agenda.鈥�
In the post, Hudspeth highlighted some of his accomplishments, saying, 鈥淲hen some pushed to , I fought back by increasing police funding.鈥� He wrote that he has pushed 鈥渢o lower the tax rate, expand our commercial tax base, and deliver critical infrastructure improvements for our community.鈥�
Hudspeth voted to at the Sept. 17 council meeting. In 2023, he voted with his fellow council members to as the previous year. The council had unanimously approved .
During his mayoral reelection campaign a year ago, Hudspeth told the Denton Record-Chronicle that rising costs were putting pressure on people鈥檚 and the city鈥檚 budgets.
鈥淒enton is a first-class city, and our citizens deserve to have great amenities and services at an affordable rate,鈥� in April 2024. 鈥淭hey also deserve low taxes. The city must continue to be as fiscally conservative as possible.鈥�