Democrat Letitia Plummer, a former Houston City Council member, is set to take the helm of Harris County as county judge on Jan. 1, 2027, responsible for carrying out her campaign promises of strengthening public safety and disaster preparedness. She is the first African American to be elected in this role. In the midterm elections, Plummer’s victory against Republican opponent Orlando Sanchez puts her on course to lead the nation’s third-most-populous county, according to unofficial results from the Harris County Clerk’s Office.
Plummer received 647,449 votes, or 62% of the total votes, to Sanchez’s 396,611votes, or roughly 38%, as of Nov. 3.
Other candidates, Marianne “Yann” Hess and Vince Duncan, received less than 1% of the vote.
The race was the first open contest for the office since 2018. Incumbent Democrat Lina Hidalgo did not seek a third term.
Plummer’s reaction
In an interview with the Defender on Election Night, Plummer said she will address the issue of transparent governance on Commissioners Court.
“This was the biggest win ever,” Plummer said. “I’m just excited to be able to do what we need to do to make sure that Harris County is taken care of. I want to establish a good level of governance. I think that a lot of things are happening within the county right now…It’s just a lot of chaos. I want to bring some good governance back, and I want to make sure that people in Harris County know that they can trust us.”
Plummer’s priorities in the Harris County judge race center on strengthening public safety and expanding disaster preparedness, she had said earlier.
Pledging to make better use of taxpayer dollars by evaluating county operations and consolidating departments by using technology to streamline services without laying off employees.
Disaster preparedness was a major focus of Plummer’s campaign. Drawing on her experience responding to six natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic, she had proposed establishing neighborhood resilience hubs equipped with generators, emergency supplies, food, and health care kits to support residents during crises.
Plummer emphasized her health care background and advocated for protecting public schools, supporting underserved communities, and opposing immigration enforcement policies she argues would divide communities.
“Every single person, every single immigrant in Harris County deserves an opportunity to live the same American dream that I do,” Plummer said during her campaign. “I’m the only candidate that does not support ICE [United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and wants ICE out of Harris County…I am not going to do anything that would support ICE being here. I want to protect our immigrant community, whatever that looks like.”
On her win, Njeri Rutledge, a professor of law at South Texas College of Law Houston, said Plummer will be a role model for the Black community.
“We made history tonight, that will inspire the next generation of Black leaders,” Rutledge said. “I liked her running for this because she’s already been sitting at the table here in our city making some very tough decisions. She understands the community, she understands the pulse of it, and I think she’s going to make decisions that are going to be good for the greater community, not just one minority group.”
Background
Plummer, a physician and former Houston City Council member, won the Democratic nomination by defeating former Houston Mayor Annise Parker in a May 26 primary runoff.
Her family history includes Plummer’s grandfather, who was the first African American judge in Texas history and helped desegregate the Harris County cafeteria system, and her father, who served in the Department of Defense and as a Harris Health dentist.
A product of Houston’s public school system, Plummer, the daughter of an immigrant mother, has also been a small business owner for more than 25 years.
What does the county judge do?
The county judge is the presiding officer of Commissioners Court, the five-member body that sets the county budget and tax rate, calls for bond elections, and maintains county infrastructure along with the Harris County Flood Control District.
By state law, the county judge also leads emergency management efforts during natural disasters alongside the Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management.
Plummer will join Commissioners Court, which has a 4-1 partisan split, tipping the balance in favor of Democrats. Her Democratic colleagues, Commissioners Adrian Garcia (Precinct 2) and Lesley Briones (Precinct 4), also won their races.
