The year 2026 bringing with it different elections, and one that has flown under the radar a bit has been the race for Harris County Judge. Current Judge Lina Hidalgo is departing after eight years in what most would argue has been a lackluster term, to say the absolute least. Now, the race for the seat is wide open, with four candidates across both political aisles vying to be the leader of Harris County.

So far, two front-runners are emerging on the fundraising front, according to recent campaign finance reports. Former Houston Mayor Democrat Annise Parker and Houston Firefighter Union President Republican Marty Lancton have surged ahead in the funding race as the primaries approach, both combining to raise $1 million. Parker has raised $416,000, while Lancton has amassed over $500,000.

Democrat City Councilwoman Letitia Plummer and former Harris County Treasurer Republican Orlando Sanchez followed up the two in those money efforts. Plummer has raised around $118,000 while Sanchez has netted around $113,000.

Gary Polland of the Texas Conservative Review says though the fundraising in this race is not a huge factor.

"If one candidate has $500,000 and an opponent has $250,000...if you spend that $250,000 effectively, the difference in the money is not going to matter," he says.

The other candidates in the mix are not particularly close in the fundraising spectrum, though. Republican Piney Point Mayor Eliza Dutt took in $42,000 while Democrat candidate Matthew Salazar reported zero contributions.

So, in all reality, this is a four-horse race heading into the primaries, which will leave us choosing either between a Republican or Democrat to lead Harris County. But the biggest issue is not the money, it will be how the voters attribute their focus.

If voters think nationally, instead of locally, then this race becomes problematic for both sides.

"You nationalize the election, then what the candidates and what they can do from there is much more difficult...they are dependent on forces they do not control," says Polland.

That seems obvious. You cannot be thinking about ICE or the national economy when voting in a local election. Local officials have no say so in any of that. Yet people need to be reminded of that, somehow.

But if voters manage to put on their critical thinking caps and focus on how disastrous the last eight years have been locally, then it could be a Republican in charge.

"If they focus on, in this care, the county commissioners failures in many instances...with the Democrats nomination, that could become a major asset to Republicans," Polland says. "The wild card though is Governor Greg Abbott, the money he says he will spend in Harris County, and the effectiveness of that money being spent."

Primaries are just one month away, and a race that has flown under the radar is beginning to heat up. Who will win is anyone's guess. But if voters focus on local issues, it could be the first step in fixing a broken county.

Michael Berry