PREVIOUSLY:
President
Senate
Railroad Commissioner
I’m going to break up the countywide race analyses into two posts, to make my life a little easier. I’m also going to reduce the overall amount of information I’m putting in them, to make it a little easier to read and so I can focus on the main highlights. This post will look at the races for District Attorney and County Attorney. Next up will be Sheriff, Tax Assessor, and HCDE Trustee.
Dist Simon Teare Dist Simon% Teare%
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HD126 47,761 29,439 HD126 61.87% 38.13%
HD127 53,722 35,813 HD127 60.00% 40.00%
HD128 45,910 19,150 HD128 70.57% 29.43%
HD129 51,699 32,738 HD129 61.23% 38.77%
HD130 62,990 27,451 HD130 69.65% 30.35%
HD131 10,822 32,382 HD131 25.05% 74.95%
HD132 53,549 36,510 HD132 59.46% 40.54%
HD133 43,025 31,611 HD133 57.65% 42.35%
HD134 41,009 56,972 HD134 41.85% 58.15%
HD135 28,531 33,004 HD135 46.37% 53.63%
HD137 11,672 16,651 HD137 41.21% 58.79%
HD138 41,482 30,436 HD138 57.68% 42.32%
HD139 18,310 39,500 HD139 31.67% 68.33%
HD140 11,157 16,722 HD140 40.02% 59.98%
HD141 8,682 28,273 HD141 23.49% 76.51%
HD142 15,647 34,870 HD142 30.97% 69.03%
HD143 15,114 20,396 HD143 42.56% 57.44%
HD144 19,724 18,880 HD144 51.09% 48.91%
HD145 20,705 37,183 HD145 35.77% 64.23%
HD146 12,967 41,335 HD146 23.88% 76.12%
HD147 15,670 47,291 HD147 24.89% 75.11%
HD148 23,700 26,757 HD148 46.97% 53.03%
HD149 20,094 25,468 HD149 44.10% 55.90%
HD150 47,621 30,571 HD150 60.90% 39.10%
CC1 106,312 255,522 CC1 29.38% 70.62%
CC2 148,063 136,468 CC2 52.04% 47.96%
CC3 300,785 189,308 CC3 61.37% 38.63%
CC4 166,403 168,105 CC4 49.75% 50.25%
Dist Smith Menefee Dist Smith% Menefee%
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HD126 47,538 29,093 HD126 62.03% 37.97%
HD127 53,566 35,276 HD127 60.29% 39.71%
HD128 45,804 18,871 HD128 70.82% 29.18%
HD129 51,724 32,171 HD129 61.65% 38.35%
HD130 62,928 26,856 HD130 70.09% 29.91%
HD131 10,816 32,205 HD131 25.14% 74.86%
HD132 53,455 35,987 HD132 59.76% 40.24%
HD133 43,575 30,403 HD133 58.90% 41.10%
HD134 41,168 55,755 HD134 42.47% 57.53%
HD135 28,602 32,671 HD135 46.68% 53.32%
HD137 11,765 16,335 HD137 41.87% 58.13%
HD138 41,662 29,732 HD138 58.36% 41.64%
HD139 18,406 39,143 HD139 31.98% 68.02%
HD140 11,211 16,540 HD140 40.40% 59.60%
HD141 8,819 28,006 HD141 23.95% 76.05%
HD142 15,741 34,574 HD142 31.28% 68.72%
HD143 15,023 20,280 HD143 42.55% 57.45%
HD144 19,806 18,605 HD144 51.56% 48.44%
HD145 20,683 36,672 HD145 36.06% 63.94%
HD146 12,860 41,082 HD146 23.84% 76.16%
HD147 15,642 46,963 HD147 24.99% 75.01%
HD148 23,783 26,347 HD148 47.44% 52.56%
HD149 19,985 25,345 HD149 44.09% 55.91%
HD150 47,469 30,136 HD150 61.17% 38.83%
CC1 106,578 252,985 CC1 29.64% 70.36%
CC2 148,161 134,624 CC2 52.39% 47.61%
CC3 300,642 185,786 CC3 61.81% 38.19%
CC4 166,650 165,653 CC4 50.15% 49.85%
These were the two closest races of the five, with Menefee winning by 1.16 percentage points and 17K votes; Teare won by 1.9 points and 28K votes. The closeness of the races is reflected in the district results, and yes that’s Menefee losing in Commissioners Court Precinct 4. The obvious takeaway here is that Democrats didn’t give themselves a lot of slack when they redrew the Commissioners Court map in 2021. They need to win countywide by a big enough margin to feel comfortable. Which I’m sure everyone was at the time, but here we are now. I believe we can get back to where we were, or at least close to it, but that’s what we need to be working on now.
And while I would really like to have that aggregate cushion, I think the incumbent Commissioners will have a bit of an advantage. Or at least, they’ve got more of their fate in their own hands than most. I have a lot of faith in them. I just don’t want to have to rely on it.
The other positive we ought to have going into 2026 that we didn’t have in 2024 or 2022 is a District Attorney who isn’t going to spend all his time and energy crapping on Democratic judges and Commissioners. I would say one of the best things that could be done for local Dems in 2026 is to have Sean Teare loudly and continuously tout his accomplishments, especially as they pertain to cleaning up the various messes he’s inherited. The more this helps ease up crowding in the jail, the better. Pairing that with funding for an ad campaign to provide a counterpoint to those obnoxious “stop Houston murders” ads, and we’ve got something. That part isn’t on Sean Teare, I’m just saying. But really, just not having that headwind should be beneficial.
Next up will be the next three countywide races. Let me know what you think.
I know that in my neighborhood, the community is very unhappy with Briones. If the lack of service and response from her office doesn’t improve, it would not surprise me if she went the way of Israel Garcia.