The Tarrant County Democratic Party has elected a new leader, who isn’t, in fact, so new.
Allison Campolo, who previously served as party chair from 2021 to 2023, was elected to the seat with 90% of votes in a July 7 special election. Her return comes after her successor, Crystal Gayden, announced her resignation in June.
Campolo defeated Patrick Moses, a retired federal law enforcement official and pastor who unsuccessfully ran for Tarrant County sheriff in the November 2024 election. Moses received 14 votes in the Monday night election for party chair.
Democratic or Republican party chairs are elected by a majority vote of their party’s precinct chairs. Each precinct chair represents a voting precinct in their county and works on the grassroots level to mobilize voters in their party.
Addressing precinct chairs immediately before they cast votes, Campolo said she plans to build on her own and the party’s past successes to make the party “even better.” She noted her 2018 campaign for Texas Senate District 10, during which she raised $88,000 and talked to “tens of thousands” of voters, and touted her efforts as party chair in 2022, when the party raised about $500,000 and talked to “over 600,000 voters.”
“Every time I do something, I think I get a little bit better at it,” Campolo said.
She returns to the party during a crucial time in Tarrant County politics ahead of the 2026 midterm election.
Political experts previously told the Fort Worth Report that the county will remain a “mini battleground state” after Tarrant voters narrowly supported President Donald Trump in the 2024 election — despite supporting Democratic candidate Colin Allred for U.S. Senate over Republican incumbent Ted Cruz. The 2024 election marked the second time Cruz lost Tarrant County after Democrat Beto O’Rourke’s slim victory in 2018.
On the county level, Campolo told precinct chairs she will lead the charge to kick out and replace Judge Tim O’Hare and Commissioner Manny Ramirez, both Republicans, from the Tarrant County Commissioners Court. She also believes the party can help Democratic Commissioner Alisa Simmons hold on to her seat after a controversial county redistricting process significantly altered the political makeup of Simmons’ precinct, leaving it difficult for a Democratic candidate to win.
“I’m aiming to make us a million dollar party. I’m aiming to talk to over a million voters,” Campolo said. “We can flip this county.”
Gayden, an attorney, has served as party chair since Campolo’s resignation in 2023. In her June resignation letter, she highlighted progress in grassroots organizing, voter education and turnout in local elections, and improving visibility for Democratic voters, particularly those of underrepresented communities.
Democrats saw several key victories in the May 3 local elections, when 14 Republican-endorsed candidates lost in school board and city council races across the county. Such positions are ostensibly nonpartisan, but several candidates across the county ran heavily partisan campaigns.
During the special election meeting, Gayden thanked precinct chairs, “who worked tirelessly to move the party forward.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Gayden said. “I’ll be here, still supporting, still doing the things. We’ll be rocking and rolling in my precinct, and all good things.”
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org.
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