Lina Hidalgo Opts Out of Harris County Judge’s Race

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.”