Alisa Simmons defeats Tim O'Hare for Tarrant County Judge

Chip, thanks. For the first time in 40 years, a Democrat will be seated as Tarrant County Judge. Ticia Musinga is live in Fort Worth with a recap of the changes there. Ticia, good morning. Hey, good morning, guys. Yeah, it was a big night for Democrats in Tarrant County. And these wins could signal a major shift in one of the country's largest Republican strongholds. So let's start first with the Tarrant County judge. Big news there. Alyssa Simmons has defeated Republican incumbent Tim O'Hare in the race for county judge. Unofficial results showed Simmons with 58% of the vote. Now, Simmons told reporters Tuesday night that O'Hare personally actually called to congratulate her. This victory comes after O'Hare faced criticism over a controversial decision to eliminate nearly 100 polling locations in the county. Simmons was one of two commissioners who voted against that proposal. She says when O'Hare asked if she expected to win, her answer was yes. Victory is yours. It would not have been possible without you, each and every one of you. And I told JoJo here this when he called, he called an hour ago to congratulate me. Did you expect this? And I said, yes. But as I mentioned, Simmons is not the only Democrat celebrating. Lydia Cardenas declared victory over Republican Manny Ramirez in the precinct four commissioner race. She finished with 52% of the vote. Simmons and Cardenas win puts Democrats as the majority on the five member commissioners court and the precinct two race has yet to be called. But Democrat Jared Williams is ahead. of Republican State Representative Tony Tinderholt. So last night's results marks a major milestone for Democrats in Tarrant County and political shift in Tarrant County as well as you mentioned, which is long considered once again, one of the largest Republican strongholds in the country for a good day. I'm Ticia Musinga.