By R.J. Morales | TX3DNews
RICHARDSON, Texas — Julie Holmer spent the fall asking voters to send her to the Collin County Commissioners Court. Five days after Election Day, she asked the volunteers gathered at Andalous Buffet in Richardson to tell her where voters had trouble getting to the polls.
ImpactAction and ImpactHUB hosted the Nov. 8 luncheon to thank volunteers with ImpactAction and GoToVote DFW. Some had spent weeks knocking on doors, making calls and sending texts. On Sunday, they heard from candidates preparing to take office and others deciding what to do after a loss.
What the Winners Told Volunteers
Holmer compared running for Plano City Council to a sprint and running for county commissioner to a marathon. She thanked the volunteers who stayed with her and said she wants residents to have polling places they can get to easily and where they feel comfortable voting.
The former Plano City Council member finished 7,128 votes ahead of Republican Shelby Williams in the Precinct 4 race, according to Collin County’s Nov. 10 unofficial returns. She is set to become the first Democrat on the Commissioners Court since the 1980s.
“We did it,” said Angie Carraway, the Democrat who ran for Texas House District 89. She credited volunteers with helping her finish ahead of Republican incumbent Candy Noble. The Nov. 10 count put her ahead by 1,439 votes. Carraway pointed to the cost of living, public schools and how history is taught. She said she had already begun talking about the upcoming legislative session.
Irvin Barrett, an Allen pastor and the Democratic candidate for Collin County justice of the peace in Precinct 3, had run for the seat before. Republican Mike Missildine beat him by more than 8,500 votes in 2022. In the rematch, the latest unofficial count put Barrett ahead by 12,151 votes. He thanked supporters and asked them to stay involved after he takes office.
Evan Hunt Says He’ll Run for Congress Again
Evan Hunt, the McKinney Democrat who challenged Republican U.S. Rep. Keith Self in Texas’ 3rd Congressional District, acknowledged that some in the room were disappointed by the loss. Hunt led Self by 6,563 votes in the Collin County portion of the district in the Nov. 10 unofficial count. Self finished ahead districtwide. Hunt said he believed he would have won under the previous district lines.
Hunt pointed to the local races Democrats won, then answered the question he said supporters had been asking him since Election Day. He plans to run for Congress again.
Darsell Johnson, the Democratic candidate for Collin County justice of the peace in Precinct 2, told the room she had put her campaign together with her children. She finished behind Republican Ellen Kinnebrew. She said she still intends to support the community and plans to take the bar exam in July.
After the Yard Signs Come Down
Irving City Council member Fahad Ahmed remembered how his campaign sent texts. The platform required volunteers to send each message individually. He thanked the people who made time for that and for knocking on doors around their work and family commitments.
TikTok creator Jessica McDonald said anti-Muslim rhetoric drew her into local politics. She asked the candidates who won how they would treat residents who hadn’t voted for them and urged them to make sure those residents had a voice, too.
Richardson Mayor Amir Omar joked that anyone with a campaign sign still in the yard should take it down and leave it by the garage door for next time. He asked residents to keep up with what their local officials do and to contact him when they have a concern, even if they disagree with him.
Holmer had already given the volunteers something to bring back to her. They’d spent weeks asking people to vote. Now she wanted to hear what those voters told them about getting to the polls.
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