HOUSTON — Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo will not seek reelection in 2026, her office confirmed to KHOU 11 Monday night.

That means Harris County will have a new leader for the first time since Hidalgo took office in 2019.

Hidalgo, a Democrat, was only 27 when she was elected to her first term in 2018 with a shocking defeat of Republican Ed Emmett. She became a target of the GOP in Texas and nationwide, but won reelection in 2022 after a contentious race with Republican Alexandra del Moral Mealer.

"When I took office in 2019, my goal was to make Harris County a place where all working families could live and thrive, not just the powerful and well-connected," Hidalgo said in a video shared on Facebook.

The two-term county judge has had a rough couple of years marred by heated exchang

See Full Page