Harris County GOP believes they're 'back' while county Democrats regroup after election losses

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- After a tight election, Harris County Republicans believe they're "back," while Democrats admit they need to do a better job of sharing their message.

Election Night didn't go as planned for some Harris County Democrats.

"When the early voting results dropped at 7 p.m., I was definitely surprised," Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee recalled.

Four years ago, Menefee won by ten points. This time, he won by less than one percent.

"It's reflective that the top of the ticket struggled," Menefee explained. "For many races, including a race like mine, most people have no clue who either of us are. They go in and vote for president and as they make their way down, they'll vote for whatever name makes the most sense for them."

Republicans don't see it that way. They won 10 county judge races, and nearly took the district attorney and sheriff races, too.

"It's a copout of the Democratic Party to sit there and say, 'We had a weak candidate. That's B.S.,'" Harris County Republican chair Cindy Siegel said.

Political experts say around 20% of people in Harris County tend to be swing voters. People they say were impacted this year by million-dollar ads against Democratic judges, and who was at the top of the ticket.

All but one Democratic criminal judge on the ballot lost their seat after that aggressive campaign painted them as soft on crime.

"This group of independent voters, as you could subscribe them, their voting patterns can significantly impact the outcomes of local down ballot elections," TSU political science professor Dr. Michael Adams said.

Harris County Democratic leaders said it wasn't only the multi-million dollar ad against them that hurt, but a lack of funding to share their own message.

"I wish we had some of the budget Colin Allred had for advertising," Harris County Democratic chair Mike Doyle said. "Tens of millions of dollars is a lot. We didn't have the money to fight back against the lies, and that's just a fact."

Experts said Democrats were also hurt with changing demographics.

"They have a serious problem with Hispanics and African-American men," Adams said. "We saw that the Republicans picked up, not a significant, but a much larger amount than the last cycle."

County GOP leaders say to gain voters, it's about the right message.

"Every neighborhood wants to be safe," Harris County Commissioner Tom Ramsey explained. "Every neighborhood wants infrastructure. The things the democratic party was talking about didn't have anything to do with what the people wanted."

Democrats believe they have a strong message too, but admit for future races they need to share it better.

"We have thought long and hard that when we get wins and childcare, we get wins on expanding access to healthcare. When we get wins on a company that's polluting our neighborhoods, we effectively communicate that to people," Menefee said.

The election in two years won't have Donald Trump or Kamala Harris on the ticket. County Republicans told ABC13 that they don't worry. They'll lean on the governor's race. As for local Democrats, Judge Lina Hidalgo says she plans to run for reelection, and they hope that helps with down ballot races.

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