Keough Wins GOP Primary, Faces Hidalgo for Judge

**Mack Keough Secures Republican Nod for Harris County Judge, Sets Up Showdown with Incumbent Lina Hidalgo**

HOUSTON, TX – Mack Keough has decisively won the Republican nomination for Harris County Judge, setting the stage for a high-stakes general election challenge against incumbent Democrat Lina Hidalgo this November. Keough’s victory over Alexandra del Moral Mealer in Tuesday’s primary runoff positions him to lead the Republican ticket in what is expected to be one of Texas’s most closely watched local races.

Keough secured a commanding 65% of the vote, with Mealer receiving 35%, after a primary runoff that saw approximately 68,000 votes cast across Harris County. He celebrated his win Tuesday night surrounded by supporters at the Kingwood Country Club.

Keough’s campaign successfully rallied primary voters around a platform emphasizing property tax cuts, a tougher stance on crime, infrastructure improvements, and increased transparency within county government. He has repeatedly highlighted his experience working directly in county operations as former chief of staff for Harris County Commissioner Jack Cagle, a role he says has prepared him for the executive duties of the County Judge. Keough also frequently references his family’s deep roots in Texas politics, including his father, Mark Keough, who currently serves as Montgomery County Judge.

His opponent in the runoff, Alexandra del Moral Mealer, had previously run against Hidalgo in 2022, losing by a narrow margin of fewer than 18,000 votes. Mealer’s campaign this cycle focused on her military service and legal background, but Keough’s message and insider county experience resonated more strongly with Republican primary voters.

The Harris County Judge position is not a judicial one, but rather the chief executive of the county, presiding over the five-member Commissioners Court, overseeing the county’s nearly $2.5 billion annual budget, and serving as the director of emergency management for the county, which is the largest in Texas by population.

The general election in November will pit Keough, a proponent of fiscal conservatism and traditional law-and-order approaches, against Lina Hidalgo, a progressive Democrat who made history in 2018 as the first woman and first Latina elected to the position, and at the time, the youngest. Hidalgo’s tenure has been marked by significant efforts in flood control, criminal justice reform, and her administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside various political controversies. The upcoming contest is expected to be a robust debate on the future direction of Harris County, a crucial swing county that often dictates statewide election outcomes.

In a separate but significant development on the same ballot, Harris County voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition A, a massive $2.5 billion bond measure. The bond package is earmarked for critical infrastructure projects, including improvements to roads and drainage, expansion of parks and green spaces, and enhancements to public safety initiatives across the county. The strong support for the bond indicates a clear public appetite for these county-level improvements, a sentiment both Keough and Hidalgo will likely attempt to align with their respective campaigns.

All eyes now turn to November, where Keough will seek to unseat Hidalgo in what promises to be a pivotal battle for the leadership of Harris County. The general election will take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.