In a last-minute political maneuver, Fort Worth Democrat Marc Veasey is running for Tarrant County judge instead of reelection to Congress.
Veasey, who was elected to the U.S. House in 2012, was expected to announce he was running for District 30 after Texas’ redrawn congressional maps pushed his current District 33 entirely into Dallas County. Many speculated he would seek Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s District 30 seat as she announced plans to run for the U.S. Senate.
He is set to face County Commissioner Alisa Simmons in the March primary to determine the Democratic nominee. Republican incumbent Tim O’Hare is seeking his second term and will face precinct chair Robert Buker in the primary election.
In a statement late Monday, Veasey said he is leaving Congress after considering where he can best serve residents as Tarrant County is at a crossroads, particularly after recent redistricting efforts by Tarrant County commissioners.
“I've seen firsthand how racially gerrymandered maps were designed to weaken the power of Black and Latino voters in North Texas-communities I have spent my entire career fighting for,” his statement read. “The people here deserve leadership grounded in truth, service, and respect-not division, extremism, and political stunts. I refuse to sit on the sidelines while County Judge Tim O'Hare drags this community backward. I'm not running away from a fight — I'm running toward the next battle.”
In a statement shared to social media Monday night, O’Hare wrote that Tarrant County deserves results rather than partisan politics. He accused Veasey of “holding the line with Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden” and pushing policies that failed communities across the nation.
“Congressman Veasey brings a consistently liberal Washington record of being soft on crime, weak on border security, and supportive of higher taxes,” the statement read. “Tarrant County families do not need a 20-year Washington, D.C. politician as County Judge.”
Veasey’s filing, minutes before the state’s 6 p.m. deadline for candidates to file their candidacy for political office in the March primary, was unexpected as political observers watched news around Crockett’s drawn-out announcement, which she timed for late on the day of filing. Their announcements quickly set off a ripple effect of candidate withdrawals and switch-ups as Democrats restrategized.
The drama started early in the day when Dallas minister Frederick Haynes III, leader of Friendship-West Baptist Church, entered the race for District 30. His mega-church has about 13,000 members, including Crockett.
The twist of Veasey leaving Congress left political experts surprised.
“He was in a difficult situation,” said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University. “Veasey is associated with Tarrant County, and that’s a Dallas-dominated district. He believed he would not have an advantage in the district and the African-American electorate would not support him but Haynes.”
Both Veasey and Haynes are Black, and the district is predominantly Black.
However, Haynes lives in the district while Veasey does not. District 30 largely covers much of southern Dallas County, which includes the church, and only a small portion includes Tarrant County.
“Crockett, in some ways, put Veasey in a difficult situation,” Jones said.
What will losing Veasey mean for Tarrant County in Congress?
“You’ll lose all that seniority, and he was one of the core Tarrant County representatives,” Jones said. “Tarrant County is now split up among multiple members who have to balance their focus.”
Tarrant County judge
Simmons announced Saturday that she is running for county judge. When reached by phone Monday evening, she said she would provide a statement later in the night.
Business owner Lydia Bean, a Democrat, was also seeking the seat but announced Monday night she dropped out and is instead seeking the office of county clerk, which serves as the county’s official records keeper. She and Gregorie C. Lewis will face off for the Democratic nomination, and the winner will go on to challenge Republican incumbent Mary Louise Nicholson.
“My mission is to defeat our extremist County Judge Tim O’Hare and all of his cronies and enablers,” Bean said in a statement. “I am committed to doing whatever it takes to end O’Hare’s reign of terror and turn around our county government so we can put effective governance for the people first for a change.”
Also running in the Democratic primary for Tarrant County judge is Millenium Anton C. Woods, who unsuccessfully ran for Fort Worth mayor earlier this year.
The county judge is one of five positions on the Tarrant County Commissioners Court, but the only one that all voters get to weigh in on. Four commissioners represent different areas of the county, or precincts, while the judge represents the county overall.
In addition to judge, the court’s precincts 2 and 4, currently represented by Simmons and Republican Manny Ramirez, will be on next year’s primary ballot. Those precincts have new boundaries after the GOP-majority commissioners court redrew the district map earlier this year to make Simmons’ precinct more favorable to conservative candidates.
As of Monday afternoon, five candidates announced campaigns for Simmons’ precinct: Democrat Amanda Arizola, co-founder of the nonprofit CoACT North Texas; Democrat Gabe Rivas, a former member of Simmons’ county staff; Republican Lucila Seri, a precinct chair; Republican Tony Tinderholt, who represented the Arlington area in the Texas House for six terms; and Democrat Jared Williams, a former Fort Worth City Council member.
Williams said Monday night he was not aware of Veasey’s intention to run for county judge, but his support remains behind Simmons. He emphasized their shared commitment to championing working families as vital to Tarrant County.
“This primary, you will see everyday people fired up and ready to get out and support candidates who are going to address the affordability crisis and really commit to restoring democracy that keeps the main thing the main thing — and that's representing the people and ensuring that government works for everyday people,” Williams said in a phone interview.
Republicans on the court have said the redistricting was intended to increase the court’s GOP representation, while critics allege they racially gerrymandered the county by packing voters of color into one precinct. Two lawsuits that sought to bar the new precinct map from being used were both dropped or dismissed earlier this month.
The primary election is March 3, and early voting runs Feb. 17-27. The general election is set for Nov. 3. A roundup of Tarrant County candidates for the primary election is available here.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated frequently.
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org.
Maria Recio is a freelance reporter based in Washington, D.C.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
