The result of a hotly contested race to replace a retiring Harris County civil court judge has flipped from a narrow Republican win to a Democratic victory after the final set of ballots was reported.
Official results published by the Harris County Clerk’s Office Friday show Democrat Nicole Perdue prevailing over Republican Michael Landrum by just 774 votes out of about 1.46 million ballots cast in the race for the 133rd District Court.
In a statement, Perdue said Landrum called Friday morning to congratulate her on the victory, just as she had done for him the morning after Election Day when she thought she lost.
“Now that all of the votes have been counted, I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as judge,” Perdue wrote. “The robe I’ll wear in the courtroom isn’t blue or red, it’s black. I’m committed to working every day on behalf of the people of Harris County in service of justice.”
Landrum could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.
The clerk’s unofficial and incomplete results from the morning after the Nov. 5 election had shown Landrum leading Perdue by 1,251 votes. He maintained that lead for a week prior to the final batch of ballots being reported.
The final batch of 7,015 votes added 4,520 to Perdue’s tally and 2,495 to Landrum’s.
Harris County Commissioners Court canvassed the vote Friday morning, making the results official.
Prior to the canvass but after Election Day, all provisional, military, overseas and late ballots were processed to finalize the election results, and changes to the results are possible during that period, according to the Clerk’s office. Ballots from military and overseas voters were due to the clerk’s office by Nov. 12.
“These ballots are a normal and critical part of the election process, ensuring that every eligible voter’s voice is heard,” County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth wrote in a statement Friday.
The race is one of 15 district judge races targeted by Harris County Republicans in an effort to reverse several years of Democratic gains in local judicial races. Last week, the local Republicans celebrated Landrum as one of 10 Republican candidates for local judgeships that won their races, despite the outstanding ballots that still needed to be counted and reported.
The other nine races still show Republican candidates holding on to their leads.
Despite the Republican gains overall, Harris County Democratic Party Chair Mike Doyle celebrated the victory, arguing it further emphasizes that the county remains a Democratic one.
“At the end of the day, the majority of the seats remain with elected Democrats,” Doyle said.
The bench was left open by the pending retirement of Judge Jaclanel McFarland.
The counting and reporting process went smoothly on Election Day and the days since, Hudspeth said.
“The November 5 elections were successfully administered through the dedication and commitment of Harris County voters, election workers, and stakeholders,” Hudspeth said. “Everyone played a vital role in ensuring the integrity and accessibility of the voting process, and I’m proud of how smoothly Election Day went.”
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