Democratic Tarrant County judge touts Republican support; opponent says Dems back him
Democrat Deborah Peoples, candidate for Tarrant County Judge, released an ad Friday morning that touts the support she has received from Republicans.
The ad features Steve Murrin, a prominent Fort Worth Republican who’s perhaps better known as the “Mayor of the Stockyards,” as well as others.
Murrin endorsed Peoples in April, and he called her Republican opponent Tim O’Hare “one of the crazies.”
“In Tarrant County, there’s no Republican or Democratic way to fill a pothole, or keep the lights on,” Murrin said in the ad.
With what Tarrant County is facing, another person in the ad said the county needs a “real leader” and someone who can “get things done.” The ad then flashes text that reads “BIPARTISAN SUPPORT.”
“We may be Republican,” another woman in the ad said. “But we know Deborah Peoples has what it takes.”
A representative for Peoples’ campaign didn’t provide an exact cost for the ad, but said in a text the ad is being placed on various platforms and that they believe it will be a “six-figure spend.”
Tarrant County GOP chair Rick Barnes told the Star-Telegram Friday morning he didn’t recognize anyone in the ad besides Murrin, and that the party didn’t consider Murrin a Republican.
“I think it’s an interesting, interesting ad in that you claim endorsement from the Republican side and yet you’ve people that nobody in the world will know who they are,” Barnes said.
Peoples and O’Hare have sparred over who is the most inclusive candidate to lead the county. Peoples has critiqued policies O’Hare brought to Farmers Branch as mayor and a member of the city council that made English the official language and prohibited landlords from renting to undocumented immigrants. O’Hare has critiqued Peoples for comments she’s made about people with Trump signs in their yard.
Peoples’ tweet promoting the ad calls her opponent “too extreme for Republicans.”
In response to the ad, O’Hare told the Star-Telegram Friday morning that he has support from Democrats who don’t want Peoples in office and that he was feeling good about where he was in his campaign.
“You fight to the end,” O’Hare said.
In a follow-up text, O’Hare said: “It is hard to be a County Judge for all people when you claim half of them are racist, promote boycotting Fort Worth businesses, and want to defund the police, like Deborah has said and done. Tarrant County won’t be fooled. Voters know they can count on me to lower property taxes, support law enforcement and be a disciplined, reliable leader.”
Barnes said the ad won’t have an impact on O’Hare’s or other Republicans’ campaigns. Barnes thinks Peoples can’t be a candidate for everyone considering her past comments about Trump signs and that she encouraged people to vote against police funding.
“She’s in serious trouble running against a guy like Tim O’Hare,” Barnes said.
