Harris County Judge Candidates: Plummer vs. Sanchez

The 2026 race for Harris County Judge is between Democrat Letitia Plummer and Republican Orlando Sanchez, who face each other in the November 6 general election to succeed two-term incumbent Lina Hidalgo. Hidalgo chose not to seek reelection, and both nominees won competitive May 2026 primary runoffs. Plummer is a Houston dentist and former city council member; Sanchez is a former city council member and former Harris County treasurer. Hidalgo has not endorsed either candidate.

What the Harris County Judge Does

The county judge is the top elected official in the largest county in Texas and the third largest in the country. The job is not a judicial one in the courtroom sense. The judge presides over the five-member Commissioners Court, which functions as both the legislative and executive body for the county, oversees a $4.3 billion annual budget, sets property tax rates, calls bond elections, and manages roads, jails, libraries, and parks.¹ Under Texas law, the judge also serves as the county’s director of emergency management, a role that matters in a region regularly hit by hurricanes, flooding, and industrial incidents.²

Letitia Plummer (Democrat)

Plummer, 55, owns dental practices in Houston and Pearland.³ Her grandfather was the first Black judge in Texas and a civil rights activist.⁴ She was elected to Houston City Council’s At-Large 4 seat in 2019, becoming the first Muslim woman on the council,⁵ was reelected in 2023, and resigned to run for county judge.⁶ If elected, she would be the first African American county judge in Harris County history.

Record on the Council

Plummer’s council tenure was marked by ambitious proposals that often did not clear the body. In 2020, she proposed cutting 200 vacant Houston Police Department positions and a cadet class to redirect $11.8 million to a subpoena-empowered oversight board, de-escalation training, and a mental health response unit; the amendments failed. She authored a tenancy ordinance to protect renters in substandard housing that was not advanced in her version, though colleagues passed a refined version in 2026. In 2025, she introduced a proposal to limit Houston police cooperation with ICE on administrative warrants, which never reached the agenda.³

Platform

Plummer calls herself “somewhat of a progressive” and centers her campaign on public safety, infrastructure, and disaster preparedness.⁷ Her specific proposals include expanding mental health crisis diversion to reduce jail recidivism, holding property taxes flat through tighter county spending, supporting the Harris County Flood Control District, and deploying mobile disaster response units she calls “lilly pads” that would bring power generation, food, and water to communities hit by hurricanes.⁸ On criminal justice specifically, she wants to expand the public defender’s office, maximize cite-and-release for nonviolent suspects, and send non-police response teams to mental health calls.⁹ She has said she would challenge Governor Greg Abbott and the Trump administration when necessary, telling the Texas Tribune, “We want to create, consolidate, and collaborate, but we also have to understand that we are fighting for our lives.”⁴

Orlando Sanchez (Republican)

Sanchez, 68, is a Cuban immigrant who served in the U.S. Air Force and the Texas Air National Guard before entering politics.¹⁰ He was elected to Houston City Council as an at-large member in 1995 and served through 2002. In 2001, he ran for mayor against incumbent Lee Brown and lost the runoff 51.67% to 48.33%.¹¹ He later served as Harris County Treasurer for 12 years, losing that seat in 2018. He has said the county’s books were balanced and debt reduced during his treasurer tenure.¹² He founded Texas Latino Conservatives, a political action committee, and sits on the boards of HCA Healthcare and Capital Bank. He also worked for four years as a county probation officer, which he cites as the basis for his public safety views.⁸

Platform

Sanchez runs as a fiscal conservative focused on cutting property tax rates and prioritizing public safety. He has criticized the current Commissioners Court for “combative relationships” and a “pugilist” tone, saying he wants to be the “adult in the room.”⁹⁸⁶¹³

Where the Candidates Differ on Voter Priorities

A July 2025 University of Houston poll found 57% of registered county voters believed Harris County was headed in the wrong direction. Crime was named as a top-three concern by 45%, poor road conditions by 39%, and flooding by 37%.¹⁴ The next judge inherits those issues alongside a projected $129 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2027, driven largely by law enforcement pay raises and inflation.⁶

Budget and Property Taxes

Both candidates have pledged to hold the line on property taxes, but their framing differs. Sanchez emphasizes cutting tax rates outright. Plummer focuses on tightening county spending while preserving social programs. County voters are split on how to close the shortfall: 38% favor cutting programs, 30% favor raising taxes, and 32% are undecided, with 74% of Republicans preferring cuts compared to 16% of Democrats.¹⁴ For context on the pressure the next judge will face, law enforcement pay parity alone carries an estimated $142 million price tag in the current budget, and the county’s total property-tax-backed debt exceeds $2.6 billion.¹⁵

Public Safety and the Jail

The county has lost 580 jail variance beds since November 2023 and now spends roughly $48 million a year outsourcing inmates. Indigent defense costs rose from $118 million in fiscal year 2023 to a projected $173.7 million in fiscal year 2025.¹⁵ Plummer’s response is diversion-focused: a larger public defender’s office, expanded cite-and-release, and non-police mental health teams.⁹ Sanchez’s is more traditional law-and-order, including skepticism of current cashless bail policy.⁸

Flooding and Disaster Response

The Harris County Flood Control District has faced a reported $1.3 billion funding shortfall that has delayed mitigation projects.¹⁶ Because the county judge is also the county’s director of emergency management, the winner will directly coordinate hurricane and flood response. Plummer has detailed her mobile “lilly pad” deployment units. Sanchez has described a broader infrastructure focus, and both have treated the issue as urgent.

Tone on the Court

Style is itself a dividing line. Sanchez explicitly runs against what he characterizes as a combative Commissioners Court and pitches himself as a steadier presence. Plummer has signaled she will push back on state and federal officials when she believes the county’s interests require it.⁴

What Shapes the November Race

Harris County has shifted from a Republican stronghold to a reliably Democratic-leaning county in recent cycles. In November 2024, 1.57 million of the county’s 2.66 million registered voters cast ballots, a 58.8% turnout rate.¹⁷ That partisan lean favors Plummer on paper. Sanchez’s path runs through independents and moderate Democrats, built on decades of local name recognition. University of Houston lecturer Nancy Sims has said both candidates are expected to pivot toward the political center by early fall.⁸

Money is a factor. Plummer raised just $130,000 during the primary and will need to scale up substantially for the general.⁴ Sanchez has reported raising over $113,000 and carries backing from several prominent Republican officials.⁶ Performance at the top of the ticket in statewide and federal races tends to influence down-ballot county races in Harris County, which adds another layer of uncertainty.⁸

1
Harris County Justice. About the County Judge
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Texas Association of Counties. Duties of Texas County Officials
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Houston Chronicle. Letitia Plummer: What to Know
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Texas Tribune. Harris County Judge Election Upset Runoff
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CAIR. CAIR Houston Congratulates Dr. Letitia Plummer
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Houston Public Media. Election Results: Harris County Judge Primary Runoff
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Houston Public Media. Letitia Plummer Harris County Judge Democratic Primary Runoff
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Houston Chronicle. Orlando Sanchez Letitia Plummer Race
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The Texan. Plummer, Sanchez Win Primaries to Replace Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo
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Orlando Sanchez Campaign. Orlando Sanchez: From Cuban Immigrant to Harris County Judge Candidate
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City of Houston. December 2001 Runoff Election Results
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Houston Public Media. Orlando Sanchez Announces Bid for Harris County Judge
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Houston Public Media. Primary Election Harris County Judge UH Survey
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University of Houston. Hobby Harris County Policy Survey
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Harris County Budget Office. FY2026 Adopted Budget
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The Texan. Democrats, Republicans Jump Into Harris County Judge Race
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Harris County Office of County Administration. Voter Registration and Participation in Harris County