Democrat Jared Williams won a seat on Tarrant County’s commissioners court Tuesday in a redrawn district that Republicans had designed to boost their advantage but that instead helped fuel a Democratic sweep, according to KSAT.
Democrats won every contested countywide race in Tarrant County, according to KSAT, a sweep that will reshape the commissioners court. Democrat Alisa Simmons declared victory over incumbent Republican Tim O’Hare for county judge, becoming the first Democrat to hold that office since Mike Moncrief left in 1986, the news outlet reported. Democrat Nydia Cardenas defeated incumbent Republican Manny Ramirez to represent Precinct 4, and Democrat Tiffany Burks beat incumbent Republican Phil Sorrells in the district attorney race, according to KSAT.
“We got the 4-1 court … just not in the direction they wanted,” Allison Campolo, chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party, told KSAT.
The results mark a dramatic reversal for the county’s Republican leadership. County Judge Tim O’Hare led the 2025 redraw of commissioners court districts in hopes of creating a 4-1 Republican advantage by boosting GOP voters in the precinct previously held by Simmons, according to KSAT. Instead, Democrats are now slated for a 4-1 advantage on the court with Simmons as judge, the outlet reported.
In the Precinct 2 race, Democrat Jared Williams defeated Republican Tony Tinderholt, who resigned from the Texas House to run, according to KSAT. The seat was previously held by Simmons, who ran for county judge. The redrawn district favored Republicans on paper; KSAT reported that former President Donald Trump won the precinct by 6.1 points in 2024.
Matt Krause, a staunch conservative and former Texas House member, will be the only remaining Republican on the commissioners court, according to KSAT. Krause was not up for reelection.
In the state Senate race, Democratic state Sen. Taylor Rehmet declared victory while holding a narrow lead over Republican Leigh Wambsganss, according to KSAT. Rehmet, an Air Force veteran, machinist and union leader, made national headlines in January when he defeated Wambsganss by 14.5 points in a special election runoff for Senate District 9, the outlet reported. Trump carried that district by 17.4 points in 2024, according to KSAT. The winner of Tuesday’s election will serve a full four-year term.
“You sent a working man to the Texas Senate, and I intend to keep doing the work you sent me there to do,” Rehmet said, according to KSAT. “I carry your trust, your hopes, and your struggles with me every day.”
In Texas House races, Democrats flipped three Republican-held seats in districts that include parts of Tarrant County, according to KSAT. In District 93, Democrat Ericka Lomick defeated Alan Blaycock, though she suspended her campaign in September after a PAC reported she was indicted and pleaded guilty to three federal felonies, the outlet reported. Her eligibility is unclear.
Republican incumbent state Reps. Charlie Geren and David Lowe prevailed in districts Trump won by more than 21 points in 2024, according to KSAT. Armin Mizani, former Republican mayor of Keller, defeated Democrat Cate Brennan to replace state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, who did not seek reelection, the outlet reported.
Two Democratic incumbents from Fort Worth — Reps. Ramon Romero Jr. and Nicole Collier — ran unopposed, according to KSAT. Democrat Junior Ezeonu, the 27-year-old former Grand Prairie City Council member, also ran unopposed, the outlet reported. State Rep. Salman Bhojani, D-Euless, defeated J.P. Woodruff in a district Kamala Harris won by 15.2 points, according to KSAT.
O’Hare, who led culture war battles including efforts to stamp out DEI initiatives, told Simmons to “sit there and be quiet” at an April 2024 meeting, according to KSAT. Simmons led the Arlington NAACP before joining the court in 2022, the outlet reported.
“I think the people who live here have really fought for their access to the ballot box and shown themselves what’s possible,” Campolo told KSAT.
