82°
75º | 93°
Sean Teare is leading incumbent Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg by a nearly three-to-one margin in the upcoming Democratic primary election, according to the latest survey from the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston.
"Kim Ogg has been at odds with some members of the local Democratic party, most notably in her interactions with the Harris County Commissioners Court," said Renée Cross, senior executive director of the Hobby School and one of the researchers for the project. "That hasn’t gone unnoticed by some primary voters. Others may be concerned about well-publicized issues in the courts."
The survey also found strong support for U.S. Rep. Colin Allred in his race for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, with 66% of Harris County primary voters saying they will vote for Allred.
Mark P. Jones, political science fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and senior research fellow at the Hobby School, highlighted the high numbers of undecided voters in some lower-profile countywide races, indicating that those candidates have struggled to gain voters’ attention in a busy electoral year.
Among the survey’s other findings, incumbent Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez has the highest approval ratings among the three incumbents on the ballot this spring, with 75% of Democratic primary voters viewing him favorably.
On the other hand, Ogg has the lowest approval ratings, with 29% viewing her favorably and 61% unfavorably. Meanwhile, County Attorney Christian Menefee has a 47% approval rating, with just 3% having an unfavorable impression.
The full report on the survey conducted between Feb. 7 and Feb. 15, 2024, is available on the Hobby School website. Future reports will delve into Harris County Democratic primary races for congressional and state legislative positions and Democratic primary voter evaluations of leading Houston-area Democratic political figures.
The primary election is scheduled for March 5, with early voting already underway.