Republican Tim O’Hare, Democrat Deborah Peoples advance in Tarrant County judge’s race
Republican Tim O’Hare and and Democrat Deborah Peoples will face each other for Tarrant County judge after they easily won their primaries.
O’Hare, a Southlake attorney and former mayor of Farmers Branch, had 56.95% of the vote with all 191 of the county’s vote centers reporting. Former Mayor Betsy Price had 34.25%, Byron Bradford had 3.41%, Kristen Collins has 2.79% and Robert Trevor Buker 2.61%
Peoples, who ran for Fort Worth mayor in 2019 and 2021, won her primary with 82.64% of the vote. Former Arlington council member Marvin Sutton had 17.35%.
Seven candidates — five Republicans and two Democrats — vied for the spot as Judge Glen Whitley makes his way out of office after 15 years in the position and 10 years as a commissioner before that.
The county judge oversees the commissioners court, which consists of the judge and four commissioners who each represent a precinct.
O’Hare, a Southlake attorney, was formerly the mayor of Farmers Branch from 2008 to 2011 and the chair of the Tarrant County Republican Party from 2016 to 2018.
During his time as Farmers Branch’s mayor, the City Council passed ordinances that prevented landlords from renting to undocumented immigrants and another making English the town’s official language. Courts found both unconstitutional.
More recently he organized the Southlake Families PAC to prevent a Cultural Competence Plan from being put in place in Carroll schools. The efforts also led to conservative victories on the City Council and school board.
At his watch party at Southlake’s Delta Mariott, O’Hare told a group of reporters that he believed he was on his way to a victory, though he wasn’t going to declare it yet.
“I think the message loud and clear is that Tarrant County Republicans want a conservative candidate,” he told the Star-Telegram. “Clearly they thought I was the conservative candidate.”
He said all the people at his party that evening wanted someone who would stand up for families, faith and a “capitalist way of life.”
O’Hare, if he wins his race, is likely to face Peoples, who leads the Democrats with 83.16% of the vote. Her opponent Marvin Sutton has 16.84% of the vote.
Peoples has run for mayor in Fort Worth twice in recent years. She lost the first time to Price in 2019 and to current Mayor Mattie Parker in 2021’s runoff election.
In a county that’s proven it can flash back and forth between red and blue, O’Hare said he didn’t plan to change who he was. He told the Star-Telegram that when you make the race about the people instead of the candidate, the people will respond.
“Together we can do awesome things in Tarrant County and I look forward to your help when we go win in November, take it to the Democrats and show people that Tarrant County is, and will remain, solid red,” O’Hare told a crowd in a speech late Tuesday.
Price was mayor of Fort Worth from 2011-2021 and served as the county’s tax assessor for 10 years before that.
Under Price’s mayorship, Fort Worth grew to become the nation’s 12th largest city. While she boasts having lowered the city’s tax rate, homeowners are paying more in taxes due to increased home values. Price also supported the formation of the city’s Race and Culture Task Force.
Price told the Star-Telegram late Tuesday that she thought she ran a race that was well supported and that while she was surprised by the early numbers, she would wait to see the final results.
In regards to the problems with the vote count, Price said it was “madness” and that Tarrant County shouldn’t be this late into an election day without results.
Whitley, who endorsed Price, said late Tuesday he was disappointed with the results he saw in early voting and that he thought the race would be more about the issues than the attacks. Whitley said he was concerned by the rhetoric he’s seen over the course of the campaign.
As he’s run his race, O’Hare has made a point of going after Price in mailers and campaign ads. In late January, Price’s attacks led to Price releasing a Twitter video to dispel the claims he made against her.
Like Price, Whitley said they would have to wait for final results and go from there.
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 7:11 PM.
