Harris County runoff election heads to Tuesday, polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Harris County voters head to the polls Tuesday for runoffs in the county judge and Republican party chair races, with 162 vote centers open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Early voting has ended, and the final decision now shifts to Tuesday’s runoff ballot in Harris County, where Republicans will choose nominees for county judge and party chair. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and county officials say 162 Election Day vote centers will operate across the county.
The county judge race is the higher-profile contest on the ballot. Orlando Sanchez and Warren Howell advanced after six Republicans ran in the March primary, and the winner will become the GOP nominee in a race that Republicans are treating as a chance to win back a county office that has been held by a Democrat since the 2018 election. The county judge is one of the most powerful local offices in Texas, overseeing county government in a region of more than 5 million people.
Harris County’s size gives the race unusual weight. It is the third-largest county in the United States and home to about 4.5 million residents, so even a party runoff can shape how local activists, donors and voters organize for the rest of the cycle. The county also ran 48 early voting locations from May 18 through May 22 before moving to Tuesday’s countywide vote-center setup.
The Republican Party chairman race is also headed to a runoff, with incumbent Cindy Siegel facing Don Hooper. In March, 170,172 total votes were cast in that contest. Siegel received 84,458 votes and Hooper received 56,251, leaving Siegel 629 votes short of the majority needed to avoid another round.
Siegel has led the Harris County Republican Party since December 2020 and previously served as mayor of Bellaire and on the Bellaire City Council. Hooper has campaigned on broadening grassroots participation inside the party. The runoff now gives voters the final say over whether the party keeps its current leadership or moves toward a different organizing style heading into the next election cycle.
For Harris County voters who waited until the last minute, Tuesday is the deadline. The election will turn on turnout, and in both races, a relatively small number of voters could decide who carries the Republican banner forward.
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