Emmett's 11-year experience as county judge, getting Houston through Hurricane Harvey and the flood bond vote, was not enough to keep him in for another term.
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The long-term Harris County judge says Democrats came out in full force and voted a straight-ticket party, causing him to lose this election.
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"This has been a strange year, like I said. Everybody thought for the Republican side it couldn't get worse than it was in 2016 and it did, it got a whole lot worse," Emmett said.
The win is an upset for Emmett, who has led the county with the plan to revitalize the Astrodome. He added that if his name would have been higher on the ballot, this would have been a different story.
But things could have a different outcome in the 2020 elections, as this is the last election in which voters will have a straight-party ticket.
Hidalgo, the first Latina Harris County judge, will take her role in January.
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