Rick Barnes edges incumbent Wendy Burgess in GOP primary for Tarrant County tax assessor
Incumbent tax assessor-collector Wendy Burgess appears to have conceded her tight primary race Wednesday morning in an email to the Star-Telegram.
Her challenger, Rick Barnes, held a slim lead in the Republican primary for Tarrant County. With all 200 vote centers reporting, Barnes has 50.28% of the vote to Burgess’ 49.72%, according to unofficial results.
“Falling 740 votes short of winning a countywide race highlights the importance of every single vote in the process. I am proud of the stellar accomplishments my office has achieved during my two terms,” Burgess said.
Barnes has 67,372 votes and Burgess has 66,633. The county still has to count some mail-in and provisional ballots.
“It has been an honor to work with my fellow elected officials and department heads to provide top notch services to the people of Tarrant County,” Burgess said.
This year’s primary also serves as a less crowded of a rematch of the 2018 race for the position, which Burgess won in a runoff.
The two have done their share of mudslinging during the campaign. Burgess alleged Barnes mishandled finances during his tenure as county GOP chair, and Barnes accused her of being intoxicated during a 2020 appraisal district meeting.
Barnes did not responded to multiple requests for comment.
Barnes will face Democrat K.C. Chowdhury, who was uncontested in his primary.
This story was originally published March 5, 2024 at 7:24 PM.
