Tarrant County GOP calls out Glen Whitley’s endorsement of Democrat Mike Collier
The Tarrant County Republican Party is denouncing County Judge Glen Whitley’s endorsement of Democratic challenger Mike Collier for Texas lieutenant governor.
The local GOP also has endorsed all Republican candidates up and down the ballot.
Whitley, a Republican, is not running for re-election this fall and will leave office January after serving as county judge since 2007. He endorsed Collier on a Sept. 4 episode of WFAA’s podcast “Y’all-iticis,” pointing to Collier’s support of infrastructure and public education and his work as an auditor.
“And just as important as any of that, he’s committed to cutting property taxes and working with local officials as their partners and not their enemy, so for all of that, I like Mike,” Whitley said in an interview with WBAP-AM.
The county GOP’s resolution says Democrats locally and nationally have called to “defund” law enforcement, chosen to not prosecute criminals, enacted policies that have hiked prices, infringed on constitutional rights to self-defense, heralded higher property taxes and made efforts to prevent parents from having a say in their children’s education.
The resolution says Whitley has never taken a stance against the policies or Democrats who pushed them.
“The Tarrant County Republican Party calls on Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley to stop his baseless criticism of Republicans while yet supporting a candidate from the party that champions the detrimental policies laid out above,” the resolution reads, before endorsing incumbent Dan Patrick for Lieutenant Governor and all other Republicans on the ballot.
In the county judge race, voters in November will choose between Democrat Deborah Peoples and Republican Tim O’Hare.
The Tarrant County GOP’s resolution highlights another sharp divide in the local party that’s continued to widen since the March primaries, after former Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price lost the Republican nomination for county judge to O’Hare.
O’Hare caught heat from Whitley for the way he ran his campaign against Price, which attacked Price’s political record during her time as mayor.
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker distanced herself from the party in an interview with the Texas Tribune in March when she said the party “confused” her.
“We just eat our own,” Parker told Tribune CEO Evan Smith.
Whitley has said he won’t be making a public endorsement in the county judge’s race, while Parker has chosen to not get involved. Price told voters to pick the candidate who would provide the best governance.
Staff writer Eleanor Dearman contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 13, 2022 at 12:27 PM.
