With all voting centers reporting election day results, Alexandra del Moral Mealer has won the Republican nomination in the race for Harris County judge.
Del Moral Mealer received 85,498 votes, or 75.46% of all votes, while Vidal Martinez received 27,810 votes, or 24.54% of all votes.
Del Moral Mealer took to her social media to express her gratitude for the nomination.
"Proud to be the Republican nominee for Harris County judge. The fight to bring accountable, effective and efficient government back to Harris County begins today," del Moral Mealer said in a May 25 statement via Facebook.
All results are unofficial until canvassed.
Updated May 24 at 11 p.m.
Alexandra del Moral Mealer appears to be the likely winner of the Republican nomination for Harris County judge, with 117 of 260 voting centers reporting election day results.
Del Moral Mealer has received 60,044 votes, or 75.6% of all votes, while Vidal Martinez has received 19,378, or 24.4% of all votes.
The story will be updated May 25.
All results are unofficial until canvassed.
Updated May 24 at 10:30 p.m.
Alexandra del Moral Mealer continues to lead in the Republican runoff for Harris County judge, with 80 of 260 voting centers reporting election day results.
Del Moral Mealer has received 55,468 votes, or 75.74% of all votes, while Vidal Martinez received 17,762 votes, or 24.26% of all votes.
All results are unofficial until canvassed.
Posted May 24 at 7:34 p.m.
Early voting results show Alexandra del Moral Mealer taking an early lead over Vidal Martinez in the race for the Republican nomination for Harris County judge in the May 24 primary runoff election.
As previously reported by Community Impact Newspaper, del Moral Mealer and Martinez were the two highest vote-getters in the March 1 primary election, receiving 29.68% and 25.56% of all votes, respectively. As no candidate received a 50% majority, del Moral Mealer and Martinez headed to a runoff election on May 24.
According to early voting results in the runoff, del Moral Mealer received 47,848 early and absentee votes, or 76.3% of all votes, while Martinez received 14,866 votes, or 23.7% of the total.
Del Moral Mealer is a combat veteran who served in Afghanistan in the Army bomb squad and has spent the past six years as an energy investment banker, as previously reported by Community Impact Newspaper. She is a graduate of West Point and has business degrees from Harvard University.
Meanwhile, Martinez is an attorney and business owner who began his career in 1978 as a federal prosecutor in Houston. He has also served as chairman of the State Bar of Texas, commissioner of the Port of Houston Authority, and on the boards of the Greater Houston Partnership and the Houston Methodist Hospital System.
The winner of the May 24 primary runoff election will face incumbent Lina Hidalgo in the upcoming Nov. 8 election. Hidalgo won the Democratic nomination for Harris County judge in the March 1 election with 70.11% of all votes. Hidalgo was first elected to the position of Harris County judge in November 2018. She is the first woman to be elected county judge and the second woman to be elected to the Commissioners Court in Harris County history.
According to the Harris County website, the county judge is the presiding officer on the Commissioners Court—the main governing body of Harris County, which is the third largest county in the U.S. with a population of more than 4.5 million and a budget of roughly $4.3 billion. Responsibilities of the commissioners court include adopting a budget; setting tax rates; calling for bond elections; building and maintaining county infrastructure such as roads and bridges; and overseeing county courthouses, jails, libraries, parks and the Harris County Flood Control District.
By state law, the county judge also serves as the county's director of emergency management, leading the Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management.
The county judge is elected to a four-year term.
As previously reported by Community Impact Newspaper, the Harris County Elections Administrator's Office anticipates Harris County residents may not receive final unofficial results from the May 24 primary runoff election until May 25, as the Harris County Republican Party has opted out of the county's election night drop-off program.
All results are unofficial until canvassed.
