Annise Parker
A familiar face is planning a comeback to Houston’s political scene.
Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker announced Wednesday that she will run for Harris County judge in 2026. Parker, who led Houston from 2010 to 2016 and made history as the first openly gay mayor of a major U.S. city, declared her intent to run for Judge Lina Hidalgo’s office following a more than nine-year hiatus from office.
“Now more than ever, the people of Harris County need a strong, competent leader,” Parker said. “I have the experience, I have the background, and I’m ready to prove that to the residents of Harris County.”
Parker officially debuted her campaign during a news conference held in front of the Harris County Civil Courthouse Wednesday morning.
Beneath gathering rain clouds, Parker said the coming years will be challenging for Harris County, particularly as major flooding events become more common — an issue compounded by President Donald Trump’s recent cuts to the National Weather Service. Parker said her campaign promised to restore some sense of certainty amid a political climate dominated by uncertainty.
“Harris County residents need certainty. There’s no waffling, there’s no hesitation. I’m standing up and saying, I’m ready to lead. I’m ready to serve. Let’s go,” Parker said. “This is hurricane season. We’re on our own down here. They’re also working really hard to throw people off of Medicare, Medicaid, Harris County Hospital District, right in the line of fire. Everything rolls downhill to local government, and it’s going to come faster and harder.”
Parker is the first major Democratic candidate to emerge as a contender for Hidalgo’s seat. Hidalgo has not publicly stated whether she intends to run again.
But Parker said she feels confident in a Democratic primary election, regardless of who she’s running against.
“I am not running against anybody. I’m running for the citizens of Harris County,” Parker said. “I want to make sure that there’s strong leadership down here. It’s going to get tougher for all of us. I have no idea if the incumbent is going to run or not.”
Parker, who has championed herself as a major proponent of ensuring sound, responsible fiscal management, also addressed the county’s looming budget deficit.
“There is no government anywhere in America that has enough money to do all the things that they want to do. So it’s all about setting priorities, and just as I did as mayor with a priority on public safety,” Parker said. “I sincerely hope that in the next 18 months, as I’m running for this job, I have an opportunity to really get to know the ins and outs of the budget and look for opportunities.”
There’s a lot to be said here so let me bullet-point this:
– Parker’s name first came up as a possible candidate last May, after she stepped down as CEO and president of the Victory Fund. It’s well known that she thought about running against then-Judge Ed Emmett in 2018 but decided against it.
– Judge Hidalgo told the Chronicle she planned to run again in 2026 in an interview a couple of weeks after that. She has not made a formal announcement, but the last word we had from her was that she intended to run.
– That said, Judge Hidalgo has basically no cash on hand and has not only raised minimal amounts over the past year, she’s spent more than she’s raised. The Chron made note of this recently. As I have said in each of the last posts I’ve done on the semiannual finance reports, this is not the activity you want to see for someone who was sure to face not only an expensive general election, but was known to have at least one high-profile opponent circling around a primary challenge. We don’t know yet what her July 2025 finance report looks like, but I can’t say I’m aware of any big fundraisers she’s had. Money isn’t everything, Judge Hidalgo is widely admired by Democratic voters, and she could be busier behind the scenes than I’m aware of. But on the surface, this is not the behavior you’d expect from someone who is in fact gearing up for another race.
– If in fact Judge Hidalgo decides not to run, then as Campos says there will surely be other contenders in the primary. I’ve already heard one prominent name, which I won’t say now because it’s nothing more than chatter. There may be other entrants into this race regardless of what Judge Hidalgo decides to do; she did draw a crowd in 2022, though none of them put up much of a fight and she easily won renomination. Having a million bucks in the bank might have been a deterrent, but we’ll never know.
– Parker won a total of nine city of Houston elections, so she certainly knows what she’s doing. But as many people have pointed out, she’s never run in a Democratic primary before. It’s a different audience, and I feel confident saying the 2026 Dem primary electorate is going to be more interested in a candidate’s fighting spirit than bipartisan credentials. Parker is saying the right things about Trump and the state government in her opening statement. But if she does wind up running against Hidalgo, she’s going to have to position herself against her. That is going to be harder than it might look.
– Not mentioned in any of the coverage I’ve seen so far, but definitely on the mind of Dem activists, is the Victory Fund’s past support of former DA Kim Ogg, who let’s just say is not a popular figure with the primary electorate. I also feel confident saying that this will be a topic of debate in the 2026 primary election.
Now we wait to see what Judge Hidalgo has to say. I will say again, I hate the idea of Parker and Hidalgo, two people I know and like very much, running against each other. But it is what it is. KUHF, the Trib, and Reform Austin have more.
Gays support gays, this Tejano will support straight Hispanics only, and not support a single gay person on the ballot. There are several gay judges on the ballot next year.
Parker has the right to run, and I have the right to vote and support as I want.
Manny, you’ve lambasted me over the years after I stated I wouldn’t vote for Adrian Garcia because I didn’t care for his style of coiffure. Nice to see you’ve pre-discounted Anise Parker as a candidate due to her sexual predilections.
Props, amigo, props !
C.L., I play by the same rules others do.
But that is not the reason. I donated to the new mayor of San Antonio twice when she ran for Congress; she came out the second time she ran. I don’t know the politics in San Antonio, but here in Houston and Harris County, it is very difficult for someone to get elected with the gay community supporting them.
The gay community has been looking to remove Hidalgo and replace her with one of their own. With Parker, it could be that she still wants to make an issue of HERO.
without the gay community supporting them, not too long ago, the only Hispanic in the city council was gay.
Meme, everything you say about the gay community in local politics today is bullshit. This is more bullshit. At least you are open about your prejudice, but that is all I can say.
I don’t like it that Annise Parker is in this race. I imagine it was a now or never decision due to her age. My feeling and direct impression due to my actual involvement in events is that she is not getting a warm reception due to the popularity of Lina. If it comes to a vote I will be voting for Lina, and I expect Annise will not win without the support of Republicans.
Like an anal opening everyone is entitled to their opinion, I believe my assessment is correct. I supported Simmons for state rep, and I live in her district. But Parker doing what she is doing is not okay with me. She could run for congress, believe she lives in the 18th, or at least she used to. But she could run for any congressional seat. There are numerous state offices scheduled for the upcoming year.
I have no idea if Lina will run again, but Parker could have waited to make her decision. She may still have left from her mayoral campaigns.
When I mentioned Jones, San Antonio, and Simmons, they are both openly gay.
I used to like Annise Parker, but I’m not a fan anymore. She endorsed Whitmire (who I do not approve of and did not vote for) as well as Kim Ogg. That being said, I think she’d probably be “good” at the job. I know several voters who are already planning to support Parker if it’s her vs. Hidalgo.
As for Lina (who I’ve always supported), she is not earning herself any points by attacking her fellow Democratic commissioners. I know she’s having struggles but it comes off as unprofessional when she blows up at Adrian Garcia.
I feel like she’d be vulnerable in a general, even with a potential blue wave. I really hope she chooses not to run and we can have a primary.
I don’t really want to support Parker and would probably vote for Lina again in the primary.
Parker was a terrible mayor who struggled to win re-election. She was supported by the partnership and Bob Lanier when she first ran; they wanted a Gay person to lead the city. That same group of people has never supported a Hispanic for mayor, nor has the gay community. They could have stood with Robert Gallegos, who always fought for the gay community.
Aside from Gracie Saenz, only two other Hispanics have won at-large seats, both of whom were Republicans.
No one thought Emmett would lose, so they chose not to run, which includes Parker.
Aside from Garcia, who puts his finger out to see which way the wind is blowing, who has Lina attacked?
Parker’s 2011 re-election did slightly better in 2013, she stayed quiet after nearly getting into a run-off
Popular vote 59,156
Percentage 50.83%