Following months of speculation and a contentious budget season in which emotions ran high at Commissioners Court, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced she will not seek re-election to a third term.
Hidalgo, a Colombian immigrant who was the first Latina woman elected to lead Harris County at age 27, has been a darling of the Democratic Party and progressives nationwide. But her recent outbursts in court and arguments with elected commissioners have chipped away at her reputation.
The county judge is slated to hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 16.
“Since she was first elected in 2019, Judge Hidalgo has helped Harris County achieve historic progress on reducing homelessness, expanding early childhood education, improving public safety, increasing government transparency and more,” Hidalgo spokeswoman Tami Frazier wrote in a press release. “She looks forward to continuing that work throughout the remainder of her term.”
Hidalgo’s term expires in December 2026. A primary election will be held in March, and the race will be decided in November of next year. Several Democrats, including former Houston Mayor Annise Parker and Houston City Council member Letitia Plummer have filed to run as Democrats; Houston firefighters’ union leader Marty Lancton and Piney Point Mayor Aliza Dutt are running as Republicans.
Former U.S. Rep. Erica Lee Carter, who served briefly in Congress after the death of her mother Sheila Jackson Lee, has said she would run for county judge if Hidalgo did not seek re-election.
Harris County is set to vote Thursday on a $2.7 billion budget, and Hidalgo has been at odds for months with fellow Democratic commissioners Adrian Garcia and Lesley Briones and Republican Tom Ramsey. Commissioner Rodney Ellis, a Democrat, was the only member of Commissioners Court to attend Hidalgo’s State of the City address earlier this month.
Ramsey led a charge to censure Hidalgo after she persuaded children to pressure the court into approving a tax hike that would fund an early childhood program — a measure that ultimately failed. Ellis was the only commissioner to vote against the censure. The admonishment was just a formality but it created a firestorm on social media of residents speculating about whether Hidalgo was fit to remain in office.
The judge has been open about her mental health struggle, taking a temporary leave of absence in 2023 for inpatient treatment and occasionally leaving county meetings to attend group therapy.
The judge told ABC 13 in an exclusive interview Monday that Harris County voters haven’t seen the last of her.
“In the future, I would like to, if the voters will have me, I’d like to be in elected office again,” she said. “I think that with everything I’ve been through, I have learned so much about how to be an elected official and make it sustainable.”
The announcement, which was widely expected, was made in a campaign video in which Moore recounts his historic 2022 campaign, which made him the first Black governor in state history, as well as his efforts on crime, budgeting, taxes and the middle class since being elected.
Gov. Wes Moore (D) makes it official Tuesday, announcing his plans to seek re-election in 2026.
The announcement, which was widely expected, was made in a campaign video in which Moore recounts his historic 2022 campaign, which made him the first Black governor in state history, as well as his efforts on crime, budgeting, taxes and the middle class since being elected.
“But while we stand up for middle-class Marylanders, the President of the United States is bending over backwards for billionaires and big corporations … firing federal workers, gutting Medicaid, raising prices on everything from electricity to groceries,” Moore said in a transcript of the video released to Maryland Matters. “The games of Washington are exhausting, and worse, they’re hurting people. I’m not from that world.”
The announcement comes two days after Moore repeated his insistence that he intends to serve a full term as governor and that he is not running for president in 2028 — a rumor that got fresh legs last week after paparazzi photographed Moore and his wife on a boat at the Italian villa of actor George Clooney, considered by some to be a Democratic kingmaker.
Moore, the incumbent and presumed Democratic primary frontrunner, becomes the second Democrat to announce his intentions for the governor’s mansion.
Ralph Jaffe, a retired teacher, filed for the primary race on July 30. Jaffe has run for governor or U.S. senator in eight previous elections, dating back to 1992. In 2022, he finished last in a 10-candidate Democratic primary field with 2,978 votes, about 0.44% of primary votes cast.
Meanwhile, on the second floor …
Moore on Monday named Lester Davis as his new chief of staff, replacing the departing Fagan Harris.
“Lester is a known problem-solver, and his proven ability to secure improved outcomes for the people he serves will build on the progress our administration has made over the past two and a half years,” Moore said in a statement announcing the appointment. “He brings a commitment to building strong partnerships, uplifting communities, and delivering data-driven results that are in lockstep with the priorities our administration has championed since day one.”
Davis joins the administration fresh off a three-year stint as vice president and chief of staff for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. He also served on transition teams for Moore and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott.
While in Baltimore, he spent roughly a decade working for Jack Young, first as director of policy and communications for then-City Council President Young and later as deputy chief of staff when Young became mayor after Catherine Pugh resigned while under investigation for fraud related to her “Healthy Holly” books.
Davis holds a bachelor’s degree in print journalism from Norfolk State University and worked roughly four years as a reporter at various publications including the Palm Beach Post. He will start this fall as part of a planned transition. A Moore spokesperson could not immediately provide Davis’ planned salary.
Harris, Moore’s current chief of staff, announced last month that he would leave by the end of the year to become president and CEO of the Abell Foundation, a Baltimore philanthropic institution.
Moore’s lobby shop staffs up
The governor’s office also added two new deputies in his legislative office.
Tony Bridges moves to the lobbying shop after three years as assistant secretary for equity and engagement at the Maryland Department of Transportation. The former Baltimore City delegate held a number of positions with the Transportation Department, including chief of staff at the Maryland Transit Administration.
Also joining the shop is Hannah Dier, who held a number of positions including, most recently, deputy county administrative officer under Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman. Prior to her stint in Anne Arundel County, Dier served six years as a budget analyst in the Department of Legislative Services. Her last three were as senior policy analyst for the House Appropriations Committee.
Bridges and Dier round out a team of seven deputies under Chief Legislative Officer Jeremy Baker. Baker once advised two House speakers overlapping with the service of Bridges and Dier.
Turns out, Hale is a Republican (now)
Ed Hale, who announced he was leaving the Democratic party to run for governor as a Republican, faced more criticism last week regarding his decision to switch rather than fight Moore for the Democratic Party nomination.
Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey (R-Upper Shore), who announced last week that he was exploring his own run for governor, claimed in an interview that Hale had not yet switched parties.
“He might think he’s a conservative person, he might run businesses, which we do understand, but the fact of the matter is, he’s a Democrat and he’s still a Democrat,” Hershey said in a televised interview Thursday. “I was at the Board of Elections today, Ed Hill has not changed party affiliation yet.”
Turns out, he had.
Hale, a lifelong Democrat, announced Aug. 21 he was switching parties to run for governor as a Republican. A day later, he said during a radio interview he had filed the paperwork to make it official.
After Hershey’s interview, Hale shared with Maryland Matters a photo of an updated voter registration card from Talbot County, where he lives. Dated Aug. 22, it shows Hale registered as a Republican. Maryland Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis Monday confirmed that Hale had switched parties Aug. 22 in Talbot County and was issued an updated voter registration card.
“Why is he making fun of me,” Hale wrote in a text to a reporter. “Seems disingenuous.”
Hershey did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
Hershey has been highly critical of Hale’s party switch, calling the Baltimore businessman a political opportunist and a newly minted Republican of “convenience rather than conviction.” It seems unlikely Hershey is going to drop the issue any time soon: During the Fox 45 interview, he made it clear if he enters the race for governor, Hale’s party switch will be campaign fodder.
“I don’t know what makes him think he can come into our party after years and years and years being a lifelong Democrat and saying at the last minute, I’m going to be a Republican and therefore embrace me,” Hershey said. “Right now, Ed Hale is looking for a party … someone to welcome him. I don’t think that the Republican Party welcomes him, but that will be a campaign issue, and if that’s what we have to talk about, I certainly welcome the opportunity to run against a Democrat in the Republican primary.”
Hale is not yet an official candidate, according to a check of the Maryland State Board of Elections website Monday night.
John Myrick, who previously ran an unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senate, and Carl A. Brunner Jr., a Carroll County firearms instructor, remain the only two filed candidates.