Lina Hidalgo Wins Harris County Judge Race Over Alexandra Del Moral Mealer

(CTN News) – Alexandra del Moral Mealer’s website by Lucio Vasquez / Houston Public Media

Judge Lina Hidalgo, the Democratic incumbent, narrowly defeated her Republican challenger, Alexandra del Moral Mealer, in a close race for months.

Mealer tweeted a concession on Wednesday morning after Harris County Elections posted the results from all 782 polling places. It was Lina Hidalgo who won by 15,957 votes, 50.74% to 49.25%.

Lina Hidalgo win represents a vindication of his win over then-Judge Ed Emmett in 2018, when a Libertarian candidate siphoned off just enough votes from the Republican Emmett to put Hidalgo ahead. This time, there was no Libertarian candidate in the race to divide the conservative vote.

Previously, Mealer, a U.S. Army captain, resigned from a position with Wells Fargo in order to run for the Republican nomination for county judge. In her campaign against Hidalgo, she focused largely on issues related to crime prevention and public corruption.

As a result of large contributions from business executives throughout the state, she significantly outraised and outspent Lina Hidalgo during the campaign. But in the end, Hidalgo’s advantage in Democratic registration across the county made a more significant contribution to voter turnout.

After a protracted dispute over the county budget and tax rates, the past few months have been challenging for Lina Hidalgo. Nevertheless, a new Democratic majority on the court will make life easier.

From mid-September through the end of October, Republican Commissioners Jack Cagle and Tom Ramsey boycotted court meetings in order to prevent the Democratic majority from passing their preferred budget and tax rates.

As a result of not being able to muster the necessary quorum of four members, the court was forced to adopt revenue rates identical to those adopted in the previous fiscal year. According to the Harris County Budget Office, this will result in over $100 million in lost funding for law enforcement.

In addition, $20 million in lost funding for the Harris County Flood Control District, and a $45 million deficit for Harris Health.

The Democrats, however, flipped a commissioners court seat and will now hold a 4-1 majority.

In Harris County Precinct 4 that was dramatically redrawn, shifting from the county’s northern tier to its western edge, and incorporating more non-Anglo voters, Cagle was defeated by his Democratic opponent, former civil court judge Lesley Briones. Briones received 51.6% of the vote and Cagle received 48.4%.

Harris County Precinct 2, which had been redrawn to favor Garcia, was won by Democratic Commissioner Adrian Garcia. There was a 52.6% to 47.4% split in favor of Garcia and Morman.

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