prevented votes cast on Election Day in Tarrant County from being counted Tuesday night.
But by early Wednesday morning, former Farmers Branch mayor and conservative activist Tim O鈥橦are had defeated former Fort Worth mayor Betsy Price in the Republican primary for Tarrant County judge.
O'Hare will face Democrat Deborah Peoples in the November general election. Peoples had an overwhelming lead over opponent Marvin Sutton in early voting.
The county judge is responsible for presiding over the commissioners court, the county鈥檚 governing body. The judge is also in charge of disaster response, including response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although there were five names on the Republican primary ballot, the focus has been on O鈥橦are and Price, the candidates with the most name recognition.
O鈥橦are is the founder of Southlake Families PAC, a group that fought against Southlake Carroll ISD鈥檚 diversity and inclusion plan. That battle became from NBC, and a point of pride for O鈥橦are, who held his election night party at a hotel in Southlake.
鈥淚t is time for us, right here in Southlake, right here in Tarrant County, to stand up and take back our country and never look back again," O鈥橦are said.
If he wins the county judge race in November, O鈥橦are promised to continue to work against critical race theory.
Critical race theory is a decades-old intellectual movement born out of law schools. It teaches that racism is embedded in systems and structures in the U.S., rather than just being the product of individual prejudice. Educators say it鈥檚 not taught in the state鈥檚 public schools, and that conservatives use it as a euphemism to oppose anything that promotes diversity and equity.
O鈥橦are told reporters that Democrats use race to 鈥減it people against each other.鈥�
"I think people in general, Tarrant County and across the state and the country, are sick of all this racial division,鈥� he said.
O鈥橦are also served as mayor and City Council member in Farmers Branch, where he promoted an ordinance banning landlords from renting apartments to undocumented immigrants. A federal court ruled that measure unconstitutional, and the battle cost the city millions of dollars in legal fees.
Republicans in Tarrant County
Betsy Price served as Fort Worth mayor from 2011 to 2021, the longest mayoral tenure in the city鈥檚 history. Before that, she was Tarrant County鈥檚 tax assessor. Her voters appreciate that history, she said in an interview at her election night party at a restaurant in Fort Worth.
鈥淭hey wanted an experienced leader, who鈥檚 from Tarrant County, works here, lives here, has served here,鈥� she said.
Throughout the campaign, O'Hare has questioned Price鈥檚 Republican bona fides, casting himself as the only true conservative in the race.
Price鈥檚 response: 鈥淚 was a Republican when these guys were still in elementary school.鈥�
Tarrant County has traditionally been a red county, but some races have swung blue in recent years.
President Joe Biden , the first Democratic presidential candidate to do so since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Beto O鈥橰ourke beat Ted Cruz in the Senate race in Tarrant County in 2018, although Cruz still won the Senate seat.
O鈥橰ourke is now the Democratic nominee for Texas governor, and he held his election party in Fort Worth on Tuesday night. His campaign called Tarrant County in the state.
One of O鈥橦are鈥檚 primary goals as judge will be to solidify Tarrant County鈥檚 conservative reputation, he said in an election night speech.
"We are going to absolutely, unequivocally not only keep Tarrant County Republican, but we're going to make it more conservative,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e're going to make it more Republican every single day. You can count on me working for that every single day."
Dallas County judge race
In Dallas County, Judge Clay Jenkins was winning the Democratic primary by a large margin.
At his victory speech, Jenkins said his efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 helped him win the primary.
Jenkins said he put science above politics and he predicted that will help him win in November.
"I'm following the science and good things happen when you listen to the business community on business and the scientific community on science," he said.
Local business owner Lauren Davis won the Republican primary and will face Jenkins in the November general election. She has opposed mask mandates and said in an interview with Fox that in schools, mandates have "turned educators into enforcers."
This story has been updated with details about Wednesday's vote count.
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