‘People power’ drove Tarrant County’s historic blue flip, Democrats say after midterms

The blue wave that delivered Democratic victories across Tarrant County came after decades of intentional grassroots organizing and “failed Republican leadership,” Democrats said Wednesday as they celebrated flipping every countywide office on the midterms ballot. 

The slate of Democrats set to take office in January reflects the county’s demographic diversity and united desire for change, Tarrant County Democratic Party chair Allison Campolo said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon at the party’s headquarters in south Fort Worth. 

A “tremendous amount of togetherness and human effort” delivered historic Democratic wins that crumbled Tarrant County’s longstanding status as the nation’s most populous urban red county, she said. 

“The people-power shown by this party, these candidates, these volunteers, and the people that live here in the state was huge — and you can’t buy yourself out of that,” Campolo told reporters. “You can’t outspend anything to make up for that people power that we brought to the table.”

The county’s top executive position, county judge, flipped blue for the first time in 40 years, as voters elected Democrat Alisa Simmons as the first woman and first Black person to hold the seat. Despite last year’s unusual, mid-decade redistricting aimed at increasing the 3-2 Republican majority, the Tarrant County Commissioners Court flipped to a 4-1 Democratic majority. 

Tarrant County voters also gave a majority of their support to Democrats for statewide office, including Gina Hinojosa for governor and James Talarico for U.S. Senate. In the statewide race for Railroad Commissioner, 56.64% of Tarrant County voters supported Austin Democrat Jon Rosenthal over Bo French, the former Tarrant County GOP chair infamous for his racist social media posts. 

Historically, the county had occasionally shifted from GOP loyalty, supporting Democratic candidates at the top of the ballot in the 2018 and 2022 midterms but sticking with Republicans in down-ballot races. Tarrant County voters flip-flopped between Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump in presidential elections: Trump won Tarrant in 2016 with 50.89%, then Biden won in 2020 with 49.31% before the county flipped back to support Trump’s 2024 reelection with 51.82%. 

Democrats at the news conference said their wins show that Tarrant County is not the Republican stronghold it was thought to be. 

“Tarrant County has never been a red county, Tarrant County has been a nonvoting county,” said Tiffany Burks, the Democrat who won her race for criminal district attorney. “What happened is when the Tim O’Hares and some of the other more extreme candidates came into office, they woke a sleeping giant, and those sleeping giants came out in numbers that we have never seen before.”

Locally, Democrats vowed to hold themselves accountable to their constituents’ desires, framing their victories as an opportunity to “truly represent” Tarrant County residents and their needs. 

“Nobody’s here just to serve the blue team — we’re here to serve Tarrant County,” Campolo told the Report in a phone interview Wednesday morning. “That’s the important thing, and that’s what we’ve been asking for all along: leaders who are here for everybody and take into account everybody’s needs and interests.” 

Tarrant County GOP chair Tim Davis did not return a request for comment. Campolo said she had a “very nice conversation” with Davis over the phone that morning, in which the two congratulated each other for their party’s wins. 

On social media, Davis wrote that Tuesday’s results were “certainly a shock” but that he was grateful for the GOP’s volunteers. 

“Our pastor said it right a few days ago: Go vote, and then pray for the winner, whether you voted for them or not. I’ll be doing that and hope you will too,” Davis wrote on Facebook. 

Campolo attributed her party’s success to “people power,” noting that Republicans drastically outspent Democrats in county, state and federal campaigns. However, Democratic volunteers were enthusiastic about their candidates, which “really translated” when those volunteers met with voters during blockwalking and other outreach. 

“It’s not just even the number of doors we knocked, but the quality of those conversations, because the people signing up for these campaigns are so motivated and passionate about the people they’re knocking for,” Campolo told the Report. 

Local voter turnout this election surpassed that of 2022 while still being lower than the 2018 midterms numbers. Of the county’s 1.34 million registered voters, 54.75%, or 733,287 people, voted in this cycle, according to unofficial results from the county elections office. 

Turnout in the 2022 and 2018 midterms reached 47.04% and 55.76%, respectively. 

Among the voters this November was Crowley resident Candice Miller, who cast her ballot Tuesday in downtown Fort Worth.

She said she voted for Democrats “because I prefer their values.” She especially opposed Trump-aligned candidates because of the turmoil she feels he has caused domestically and globally.

“He has caused a lot of issues with our nation,” Miller said. “I’m tired of all of it — the state of the economy, outright lying and deceit.”

Fort Worth resident Billy Orr voted for Democrats all the way down the ballot, saying he was “fed up with everything,” especially rising costs for gasoline and groceries. The 68-year-old drives for Lyft and has felt the rising gas prices cut into his daily income. 

He said he was mainly focused on the federal races, wanting to see the House and Senate flip. Otherwise, he said, the “next two years, they’re gonna be extremely rough.” 

“I just don’t care much for Ken Paxton, and I’m ready for the governor to go find a new job,” Orr said. “It’s time for change.” 

Orr said he’s tired of seeing career politicians grow old in office, and he wants to see “some more aggressive, younger people” bring in a new political agenda. However, standing outside the Northpark YMCA on Election Day, he said he wasn’t holding his breath for a blue wave. 

Fort Worth resident Glenn Holland, 77, voted with wife Nelda, but the couple wasn’t happy with the ballot this year. They both supported Republicans, but Holland said he hasn’t been excited for a candidate other than Trump for years.

“I wish I had a better other option that wasn’t just throwing away my vote,” Holland said. “In the past, we voted for independents, and it was just a throwaway vote. So I’ll vote for Republicans and try to keep them in office as much as possible.” 

County commissioner Matt Krause, who will be the lone Republican on the commissioners court in January, wrote on social media that he plans to help Republicans redouble their efforts in 2028 to “retake ground lost.” He said to avoid feeling discouraged he’s leaning on his Christian faith and trusting in God’s plan. 

“It may take some time to recover what was lost last night. But, it is certainly worth the effort,” Krause wrote on Facebook. “Tarrant County has been a leader for a long time and has strengthened the state because of it. I am committed to seeing it happen under Republican leadership again and I hope you are too.”

At the news conference Wednesday, Democrats vowed to work collaboratively with the remaining Republicans in office to best serve Tarrant County residents. 

Burks, whose office interacts heavily with the sheriff’s office led by Republican Bill Waybourn, recalled working in the DA’s office as an attorney for 21 years, working with Republican-dominated county government. 

“Sheriff Waybourn, all the other Republican elected officials, they know me. I’ve worked with many of them,” Burks said. “We have a healthy respect for one another in different ways, and so I think we’ll be able to collaborate and work to get the job done.”

Nathan Smith, the Democrat who toppled Republican Tom Wilder’s 32-year streak as District Clerk, said he plans to take office with his hand extended, ready to work with anyone. He looks forward to working collaboratively to increase transparency and accountability in the office. 

“What I will say right now, very definitively, is I will not be a party to what has been going on before, which is making judicial processes a black box that the public cannot see into,” Smith told reporters. “That time is over from the district clerk’s office, so I’m happy to enter into all conversations and collaborate in any way possible.”

Reporter Eric E. Garcia contributed reporting. 

Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at [email protected]. 

At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.