Simmons wins 56% of vote to become Tarrant County's first Black female judge
The Democrat unseats incumbent Tim O'Hare, shifting the Commissioners Court to a 4-1 Democratic majority and ending a 40-year streak of Republican control.
By Salma Farouk ·
Alisa Simmons won the election for Tarrant County Judge on November 3, securing 56% of the vote with 402,291 ballots. She defeated Republican incumbent Tim O'Hare, who received 44% of the vote with 311,040 ballots. O'Hare had held the position since 2023. Simmons is the first Black woman and the first Democrat in 40 years to hold the office.
Simmons told FOX 4's Peyton Yager that she felt proud of the result. "I am thrilled that the electorate rose like there was an uprising," she said. Her victory shifts the Tarrant County Commissioners Court from a 3-2 Republican majority to a 4-1 Democratic majority, following other Democratic wins in the 2026 elections.
The campaign centered on the direction of the court. O'Hare implemented a controversial redistricting plan in 2025 intended to increase conservative leadership. He also campaigned to eliminate nearly 100 Tarrant County polling sites before the midterms. Simmons said she wants to lower the temperature of recent contentious meetings.
"Moving forward, I can guarantee folks will see more transparency," Simmons said. "They will see they have elected officials that are welcoming." She noted that multiple people were thrown out of meetings in August and September. Former Texas State Rep. Lon Burnham filed a lawsuit against O'Hare after his removal from the court during that period.
Under Simmons' leadership, the Commissioners Court will return to two monthly meetings. It had operated with one meeting per month under O'Hare. Public comment time at those meetings will increase from one minute to three minutes. Simmons stated she is already reviewing the county budget. "The fiscal health of the county. It's not as healthy as people are led to believe," she said.
She also plans to examine recent deaths at the Tarrant County Jail and access to behavioral and mental health services. "All of that partisanship has been an extreme distraction from doing the work," Simmons said. "So that is what I am excited about. I get to actually do policy work and govern and make improvements."
Simmons will assume her new office on January 1, 2027.
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