TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — It was a major upset.
Republican Tim O’Hare won big in the primary election. The former Tarrant County GOP Chair secured the GOP nomination for Tarrant County judge when he defeated former Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price by 23% of the vote.
During his election night party Tuesday, the Southlake attorney spoke to a crowd of supporters. While he didn’t declare a victory Tuesday night, he was optimistic.
“We are going to absolutely, unequivocally not only keep Tarrant County Republican, but we’re gonna make it more Conservative,” O’Hare said.
O'Hare, former Farmers Branch mayor and Southlake Families PAC founder was among dozens of candidates endorsed by former president Donald Trump.
Of the 33 Texas candidates Trump endorsed, nearly all of them were successful.
A February poll from Emerson College found nearly 50% of Texas Republican primary voters said they were more likely to support a Trump-endorsed candidate.
However, political experts argue that Trump shouldn't get all the credit.
James Riddlesperger, a professor of political science at Texas Christian University told WFAA it’s difficult to determine if Trump’s endorsements led candidates to success.
“We don’t know whether he chose to endorse people because he thought they would be successful, or if they were successful because he endorsed them,” Riddlesperger said. "Of course, he endorsed people who he assessed had a good chance of winning. So, it's hardly surprising that his endorsements were successful."
WFAA political analyst and Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Bud Kennedy agreed with Riddlesperger’s analysis.
“I don’t think it’s totally a Trump effect, cause you would’ve seen Phil Sorrells, the district attorney candidate, win without a runoff,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy told WFAA that the results of the primary elections signal a shift in Texas politics.
“We know every cycle that the people who move to Texas are more Conservative than the people who live in Texas,” Kennedy said. “When you have a county like Tarrant County, where so many people have moved, they moved to Texas because they like the way it is and they want to make it more so… so they tend to vote for more Conservative candidates.”
O’Hare will face Democrat Deborah Peoples in November.
On Tuesday, Peoples told WFAA that the county judge must be someone who will work across the aisle and listen to all of the people who live in Tarrant County.
“You need a leader that is committed to every single resident in Tarrant County, and that’s me,” Peoples said.
Come November, Texas voters will determine out what the future could look like for a county that has shown it can go back and forth between red and blue.