Cárdenas unseats incumbent Ramirez in race for Tarrant County Precinct 4 commissioner

Editor’s note: This article was updated with unofficial voting results at 12:30 p.m. Nov. 4.

Democrat Nydia Cárdenas secured the seat for Precinct 4 in the Tarrant County Commissioners Court after defeating Republican incumbent Manny Ramirez in the Nov. 3 election.

Unofficial voting results show Cárdenas receiving 89,039, or 51.80% of the vote, against 48.20%, or 82,839 votes, for Ramirez.

At her watch party Tuesday night, Cárdenas thanked her supporters and talked about her campaign.

“You know, this campaign from the beginning … was to run it in a way that was very centered on community,” Cárdenas said.

Cárdenas, 40, is the founder of The Energy Takeback, a leadership coaching practice rooted in engineering principles. She also facilitates the 817 Gather, a Tarrant County progressive community organization. Cárdenas has a background in economic development through programs, including Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses and the Black Ambition Prize. She was also vice president of customer experience for a tech startup.

This will be Cárdenas’ first term on the court. Ramirez was seeking a second term.

Ramirez, 38, was elected commissioner in 2022. He has also served as chairman of the board for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department since 2024. He was a Fort Worth police officer for more than 15 years and was the president of the Fort Worth Police Officers Association for six years.

Ramirez focused his campaign on public safety, road infrastructure, transportation mobility, affordability and tax relief.

Cárdenas focused on expanding mental health care access across the county, property tax reform, resources for childcare, affordability, and jail accountability.

Penelope Rivera is KERA’s Tarrant County Accountability Reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope at [email protected].

KERA editor Juan Antonio Ramos and Fort Worth Report reporter David Moreno contributed reporting.

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