Tim O’Hare defeats Deborah Peoples in race for Tarrant County judge

Tim O’Hare has won the election for Tarrant County judge.

His opponent, Democrat Deborah Peoples, called the Republican to concede the race late Tuesday evening.

O’Hare, a 53-year-old personal injury attorney from Southlake, previously served as a city council member and mayor in Farmers Branch, where he made national headlines for ordinances that prevented landlords from renting to undocumented immigrants and made English the city language. He was the Tarrant County GOP chair from 2016 to 2018, and in 2020 he founded Southlake Families PAC with Leigh Wambsgnass, who is now the executive director of Patriot Mobile Action PAC.

O’Hare’s platform has heavily centered on lowering property taxes — his plan is to cut the rate by 20%. O’Hare also ran his campaign on election integrity and law enforcement support, though the commissioners court is only in charge of the sheriff’s office budget and not local police departments.

Peoples, 70, is a former executive for AT&T, where she worked for 34 years. She has run for Fort Worth Mayor twice — once against former mayor Betsy Price in 2019 and again against current mayor Mattie Parker in 2021. Peoples was the top vote-getter on Election Day in the race against Parker, but Parker ultimately won in the runoff election. Peoples also served as the Tarrant County Democratic Party chair from 2013 to 2021.

Her platform for county judge focused on expanding health care access, increasing affordable housing and increasing job opportunities.

O’Hare received 53% of the vote to Peoples’ 47%, according to unofficial results. Just like in his primary race, O’Hare won due to support from the county’s suburbs. Areas like Keller, Southlake, Grapevine, Colleyville and all of Northwest Tarrant County lit up bright red for the Republican.

Peoples gleaned most of her votes from Fort Worth’s urban core and Arlington. It was a race in which only 47% of registered voters turned out.

O’Hare told a group of reporters at the Tarrant County GOP’s victory party at Ashton Depot in Fort Worth that Peoples’ move was classy and that he appreciated the call.

A spokesperson for Peoples’ campaign said the Democrat wouldn’t be available for comment.

O’Hare said he was honored to be the county judge-elect. When asked what he would do differently from current Republican county judge Glen Whitley, O’Hare told reporters he would never endorse a Democrat and he would actually try to reduce property taxes.

Whitley endorsed Democrat Mike Collier in the race for lieutenant governor against incumbent Republican Dan Patrick, who ultimately won his bid for re-election.

O’Hare has caught heat along the campaign trail with claims that he would be the divisive candidate if elected. O’Hare told the Star-Telegram that his first move in office would be to call Democratic county commissioner Roy Charles Brooks and ask him to get lunch. O’Hare said Brooks was willing to meet.

“At the end of the day, I’m going to do what I believe is right,” O’Hare told the Star-Telegram. “I’m not going to do what I think you got to do to get re-elected or say what I’ve got to say to keep you all off my back. I’m going to do what I think is right and I’m going to say what I believe and ultimately, people will respond to it and get behind it, or they won’t. And that’s kind of how it goes.”

To the voters who didn’t show up to the polls, O’Hare said cutting property taxes is good for everyone and that he would support law enforcement.

O’Hare was asked by one reporter how he would be inclusive as county judge. O’Hare snapped back and told the reporter that the media asked questions that divided people.

“I love God, I love my family, I love my county, I love my country,” O’Hare said. “And ultimately, I’m not going to be able to bring every single human being together. We’re at a very difficult divided political time, and you people don’t help us.”

O’Hare’s race for the Republican nomination in the March primaries against former Fort Worth mayor Betsy Price was one that stoked division among county Republicans as O’Hare attacked Price for her record as mayor in an attempt to prove she wasn’t the conservative candidate for the job. Whitley took to Twitter shortly after the race finished and said he couldn’t believe an attack-style campaign worked in the county and that he hoped the race would become more about the issues at hand.

Whitley ultimately didn’t endorse a candidate in the race. He didn’t return a phone call for comment late Tuesday, but took to Twitter to send his congratulations to the candidates who won their races.

“Congrats to all winners of today’s election!” Whitley wrote. “Democracy takes all of us – thx to all who voted, worked the polls, ran for office, or supported a loved one running a campaign. My 1st call tomorrow will be to [Tim O’Hare] to get to work on a successful transition for County Judge.”

The GOP’s crowd at the watch party was lively throughout the night and featured candidates from up and down the ballot.

Tarrant GOP chair Rick Barnes took the stage and told the crowd there were still votes to be counted, but he knew voters turned out hugely for the Republican candidates.

When he arrived at Tuesday evening’s event, O’Hare told the crowd the question the media likes to ask is if Tarrant County will flip blue. His answer was the same as the crowd’s — no.

Tarrant County went blue for Democrat gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke in 2018 when he ran for U.S. Senate against Republican Ted Cruz, and it flipped blue for President Joe Biden in 2020. The county hasn’t seen a Democratic county judge since Mike Moncrief, who served in the position from 1975 to 1986. Moncrief has since endorsed O’Hare and Republican DA candidate Phil Sorrells.

In his speech Tuesday evening, O’Hare hammered on the same campaign promises he’s made all election cycle, like lowering property taxes and supporting law enforcement.

“I can tell you, as long as I’m county judge, if I’m fortunate enough to hold on tonight, I can tell you there’s no scenario where we ever shut down a church, ever shut down a business, ever shut down a school ever again,” he said.

O’Hare told the crowd he would stand for family, faith, freedom and American values.