In 2022, longtime Tarrant County Judge R. Glen Whitley, a consummate moderate Republican, opted to retire after a nearly 30-year reign.
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, another moderate GOPer, was his most likely successor. But the county’s conservative movement rallied instead behind Tim O’Hare, a right-wing activist backed by West Texas oil billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, and he toppled Price in a contentious primary. He then went on to win the county’s top executive position in November.
