Republicans win Tarrant County, moving local government further to the right

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Far-right Republicans triumphed in Tarrant County on Tuesday, strengthening their grip on local government that included reelecting a sheriff with ties to election denial movements, and maintaining GOP control over a crucial electoral battleground.

Republican Sheriff Bill Waybourn held on to his seat, and former state Rep. Matt Krause, a conservative Republican, won his race for commissioners court, ensuring a GOP majority on the county governing board. Democrat Roderick Miles also earned a spot on the court representing a predictably blue precinct.

Former President Donald Trump also won Tarrant County — a reversal of 2020, when he lost there. Meanwhile, Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz trailed his Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred of Dallas, by less than a percentage point in the county early Wednesday.

Tarrant County is the nation’s most populous Republican-led county. After President Joe Biden narrowly won there in 2020, voters elected in 2022 a hardline conservative, Tim O’Hare, to county judge — the highest elected office. Tuesday’s election is likely to increase the “culture war” agenda that O’Hare has pursued in office, and accelerate local government’s ongoing move away from the bipartisanship on which it once prided itself.

Krause is a leader in Texas’ conservative Christian legal movement. He has advocated for requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms, and as a lawmaker investigated Texas school districts over books that taught on racism or sexuality. His election puts two prominent far-right figures on the five-seat county commissioners court, including O’Hare.

Waybourn has close ties to the Constitutional Sheriff movement, a far-right law enforcement organization that believes elected sheriffs have almost unchecked authority to defy state and federal laws that they deem unconstitutional. He spoke at a “Stop the Steal” rally in 2020, and was recently named “Sheriff of the Year” by the Claremont Institute, a think tank whose leaders have advocated for Christian nationalism and were central to Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

Waybourn survived a challenge from Democrat Patrick Moses, a law enforcement officer-turned-reverend whose campaign focused heavily on the more than 65 people who died in the county jail under Waybourn. Moses accused Waybourn of focusing more on national politics than his local duties.

Waybourn and Krause won their races despite concerns from some area Republicans about the direction of county government. Earlier this year, Glen Whitley, a Republican who led the county from 2007 to 2022, told The Texas Tribune that O’Hare has governed with an “us vs. them” mentality — a stark contrast from the moderate, business-friendly approach that helped the GOP hold control over the fast-diversifying county for decades.

Under O’Hare, the commissioners court has changed election rules, scaled back diversity and harassment training requirements for local government agencies, and cut ties with youth programs because the groups administering them taught about racial inequality. At the same time, O’Hare has repeatedly targeted private citizens who were critical of him. Ahead of the election, the county judge unsuccessfully tried to curb early voting access by closing polling locations on some college campuses.

Krause replaces outgoing Commissioner Gary Fickes after comfortably defeating Democratic challenger Laura Leeman in Precinct 3, which covers the northeastern part of the county and includes cities such as Southlake and Keller. A member of the far-right Freedom Caucus, Krause served in the Texas House for five terms. During that time he asked school superintendents to confirm whether any books on a list of 850 titles were in their libraries and classrooms that “make students feel discomfort,” setting off a statewide GOP purge of certain books, often touching on LGBTQ+ themes, in public schools and libraries.

Tarrant County is an epicenter of conservative Christian movements that argue America’s founding was God-ordained, and that Christians must have dominion over all parts of society. Krause’s election is the latest victory for that movement, and for local churches who have defied federal prohibitions on political activity in order to elect their allies to state and local government.

Krause is an attorney with the First Liberty Institute, which has been instrumental in lawsuits that have infused more Christianity into public life and eroded church-state separations. Last year, as Texas lawmakers considered a bill to require the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, he testified that Texas could become a national “model” for passing laws that’d spark a “restoration of faith in America.” The bill did not pass, but lawmakers are expected to pursue it again during the 2025 legislative session.

Precinct 1, which covers the county's southwest, went to Miles, who outgoing commissioner Roy Charles Brooks endorsed. The region is where most of the county's Democratic votes typically reside as Miles won his race against Republican Michael Barber.

In a tighter race, Waybourn won reelection despite an 8-year tenure marked by controversy.

Waybourn has faced calls to resign from a Democratic commissioner and local community members because of deaths in the county jail. Waybourn requested the U.S. Department of Justice to review the conditions at the jail in May. The results of it showed that although several practices at the jail met or exceed national standards, officials could improve the conditions of those with significant needs, including as those at risk for suicide.

The Local Accountability PAC, a national progressive group focused on sheriff races, launched a six-figure campaign to help Moses unseat Waybourn. Moses received the endorsements of local North Texas newspapers and state Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, while Gov. Greg Abbott and local law enforcement associations have endorsed Waybourn. Along with O’Hare and District Attorney Phil Sorrells, Waybourn is a member of the county’s election integrity unit, created last year to focus on potential voter fraud, which has not filed a single case.

Tarrant County Republicans also won other local races, such as the county’s tax assessor-collector and local judicial races.