Harris County Judge results: Latest numbers in race to replace Lina Hidalgo
March 3, 2026
Transcript
Cheryl Mercedes (news anchor):
... Kless who is with the Harris County candidate for judge Annise Parker.
Troy Kless (news reporter):
Yeah thank you Cheryl. We are here at Pearl Bar where we see behind us this is the party for Annise Parker who is vying to win the Democratic nomination for Harris County judge. Now so far the early voting numbers showing that she is off to a strong lead, but is it enough to avoid going into a runoff potentially in May? Well I spoke with Annise Parker moments ago. I'll tell you a little bit more about her in a second, but I do want to show you little bit of what Letitia Plummer's watch party looked like earlier this evening where she told us that one of her competitors was setting up and was thankful for the supporters that have gotten her through this journey. She says that she is excited by what the numbers are showing so far despite being down, saying that the current results show that she is running a competitive race. I caught up with Letitia Plummer earlier this evening, and here is what she told me about what she's seeing so far.
Letitia Plummer (candidate):
[Candidate segment missing from video.]
Annise Parker (candidate):
I have been confident since I entered the race that I would be the Democratic nominee and the next Harris County judge. After tonight's results whether it's done tonight or whether we move to May in a runoff, I know I'll be the Democratic nominee now. It's just a matter of when it happens, but I hope we can put it to bed tonight, and I can begin to focus on the general election and helping build that unified Democratic ticket.
T. Kless (reporter):
So you talk about a unified Democratic ticket whether that's at the national level or here at the local level - why is that so important for Harris County and a community that is as diverse as it is?
Annise Parker (candidate):
I think this is my first partisan race. I've run a number of times, represented people. As public officials our job is to represent all of our constituents, and I believe that the best way to represent my constituents in Harris County is to have strong Democratic leadership to work with, and that the assault on local government that are coming from Washington and Austin need to be pushed back against.
T. Kless (reporter):
So when you're out talking to people today what was the final message to people as they're making their way to the polls?
Annise Parker (candidate):
I was reminding people of my time as [Houston] mayor and how we worked together and how successful it was, but also saying that I was committed to building a better future for Harris County, and it was interesting in early [voting] because there were so many people showing up that no one really expected to vote. So none of us were communicating with them and weren't polling them, so I was actually meeting them for the first time a lot of them at the polls, and it was a good test of what the issues were around Harris County. People are worried about the economy. They're worried about crime. They're also worried about infrastructure and keeping the water out of their homes. They want this to be a place they can afford to live and it's safe to live, and I'm committed to doing that for them.
T. Kless (reporter):
And again that is Annise Parker who again sharing that message with supporters that she has gathered around tonight. I also spoke with Letitia Plummer who is behind Parker in this race. She says that she's still excited about what she's seeing from the numbers and that she felt that she's performing above what polls expected her to, though the race is still way too early to decide who the Democratic nominee will be for the Harris County judge race, and that will remain to be determined whether it's tonight or within the next couple days as votes come in, and we will see who will be facing off against a Republican for Harris County's top executive position in just a couple months. For now reporting live in the Heights we'll send it back to you.
Ron Treviño (news anchor):
All right thank you so much Troy Kless. Annise Parker seems very confident that she will end up being the next county judge in Harris County, but the night's not over.
C. Mercedes (anchor):
Absolutely as you saw the results are coming in, and there's a lot of change happening. We'll be right back.