Harris County District Attorney election results: Sean Teare wins
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - The race for who will be the next District Attorney of Harris County has been determined by voters.
Unofficial final results show Sean Teare received 50.82% of the vote, while his opponent, Dan Simons, received 49.18% of the vote.
This comes as the current Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg lost in a primary election to Sean Teare. Teare was a prosecutor with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office for 11 years, including six years as the Division Supervisor of the Office’s Vehicular Crimes Division.
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According to his campaign website, Teare said he will fight for reproductive rights, seek justice for survivors of domestic violence, lead on gun violence prevention, ensure second chances for those who deserve it, fix the "broken cash bail system," and eliminate the criminal court backlog.
Teare said the following on his campaign website why he was running for Harris County District Attorney:
"I believe that our criminal justice system can operate with both empathy AND efficiency. I believe that we don’t have to choose between safety and justice – that we can reform the system to make it more fair while simultaneously protecting our citizens from violent criminals. It’s what drove me to come back to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in 2016 to work with the new leadership to implement a fresh vision for criminal justice in our county. Sadly, the next six years proved to me that the new administration was more interested in political games and personal vendettas than in real change. Eventually, I came to the realization that improving the system would be impossible as long as the current leadership continued to place personal interests over public service.
Today, the Harris County DA’s office is facing serious challenges. Morale is at an all time low, causing prosecutors to leave in droves to take lower paying jobs elsewhere because the work environment is so toxic. This dysfunction has led to a massive backlog of felony cases, which in turn has led to a steady stream of mistakes which leaves non-violent and low-level offenders locked up awaiting trial for months, while serious threats to the community are released back onto our streets. I’m running because Harris County deserves a working criminal justice system for all. It’s time to stop playing politics and get our institutions working again. Harris County is the third largest county in the nation. We should be leading the nation on criminal justice. Under my leadership, we will."
Election results in the Houston area and across Texas
This is just one race voters are being asked to consider this election. Across the nation, Americans cast their ballots for the next president of the United States. In Texas, a closely watched race was between Incumbent Ted Cruz and Democrat Colin Allred for U.S. Senate. Voters in Fort Bend County and Harris County voted for a sheriff. Voters also elected new U.S. representatives for their districts, including in Texas Congressional District 18, where voters would choose who would fill the position following the passing of longtime Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
To see live election results for these races and more, click here.