O’Hare-Price matchup likely to set Tarrant County’s political direction

A site paid for by a conservative political action committee poses a single question to visitors: “Who is the real Betsy Price?” Price, a Republican, is seeking to replace outgoing Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley. The former Fort Worth mayor is considered a top contender for the county’s top elected position. Tim O’Hare, a former Tarrant County Republican Party chairman, is another top candidate for the job. The site goes through Price’s record as mayor. Its conclusion? “Betsy Price is too liberal for Tarrant County,” the large, white text reads. This ideological purity test is one of the key parts of the campaign to clinch the GOP’s nomination for county judge. That question is one O’Hare wants Republican voters to consider as they head to the ballot box starting Feb. 14. But Price doesn’t see her race against O’Hare — and three lesser known candidates — as that. Instead, she says it’s about filling the looming vacuum of experience that awaits the Tarrant County government next year.

Early voting in the primary elections starts on Monday, Feb. 14. Election Day is Tuesday, March 1. To find more information about polling places and voting by mail, visit Tarrant County’s elections website. Whether O’Hare or Price is right about their intra-party debate will emerge on March 1. The winning argument, though, will almost certainly set the political direction of Tarrant County for the next four years. “Most of the folks who are elected, especially countywide, a Republican is going to end up winning in the fall,” Whitley, a Republican, told the Fort Worth Report. Thomas Marshall, a political scientist at the University of Texas at Arlington, expects the primary will have high turnout because the national climate is more favorable for Republicans and most of the competitive races are on the right. “This race may be watching up until the last few minutes,” Marshall said.