County Democratic candidates lead in county races, UH voter poll finds

Democratic candidates are leading Republican opponents in the race for three Harris County seats, a recent University of Houston poll found. 

The big picture

The Hobby School of Public Affairs published results Oct. 13 from a representative survey it conducted with county voters who are expected to cast a ballot in November’s general election. 

Broadly, the report found that Democratic candidates on the Nov. 3 ticket are ahead of their Republican counterparts. 

Renée Cross, a researcher and senior executive director of the Hobby School, said in a statement that voters are concerned about crime and property taxes. 

“They think the county, state and country are headed in the wrong direction,” Cross said. “But that does not appear to have translated into a desire to reverse the county’s Democratic tilt.”

The online survey, available in English and Spanish, was fielded Oct. 3-8 and included 2,750 participants, per the report. Results come as early voting begins Oct. 19. 

Zooming in

Among voters’ top issues in the race for county judge—who leads the Harris County Commissioners Court—are crime and public safety, property taxes, voting rights and candidates’ political party.

The report found that nearly half of county voters don’t know enough about the candidates for county judge to have an opinion on them. Despite that, the report shows Democrat Letitia Plummer, with 47% support, is ahead of Republican Orlando Sanchez, with 40% support. Thirteen percent of voters are undecided. 

The report also had favorable findings for the two Democratic county commissioners seeking reelection. Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia leads opponent Richard Vega by 12 percentage points, the report states. The poll shows 8% of voters are undecided. 

Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones leads opponent Steve Radack, a former commissioner, by 8 percentage points, according to the report. Ten percent of voters reported being undecided in the race. 

Another detail

The survey also asked likely voters to weigh in on “issues that are most important to their vote decision,” according to the report’s executive summary.  

In September, the commissioners court voted 3-1 to approve a 7.6% property tax rate increase—one of the highest in the county’s recent history. The poll found that 72% of voters disapprove of the decision, with 22% approving. 

The survey also asked voters for their opinion on the county using Flock Safety cameras for law enforcement purposes. The cameras, which track and temporarily document license plates, were used countywide until last week—when Briones announced all Flock cameras on Precinct 4 property were decommissioned. 

The poll found 56% of likely voters oppose using the cameras for law enforcement purposes, with 40% supporting their use. Support is split along ideological lines, with 69% of Democrats opposing Flock cameras and 59% of Republicans supporting them. 

Commissioners are slated to talk about automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, during their Oct. 15 meeting. The court is expected to hear a report from many county offices, including the Sheriff’s Office, about the use and scope of the surveillance cameras countywide.