Spring residents will pick their next top county leader on Nov. 3 when Republican Orlando Sanchez and Democrat Letitia Plummer square off for Harris County judge.

The seat matters here more than in most places. Spring has no city hall. The community is unincorporated, meaning Harris County government handles roads, flood control, parks, jails and emergency response that a city would manage elsewhere. The county judge presides over Commissioners Court, which sets tax rates and oversees a $4.3 billion budget. By state law, the judge also serves as the county's director of emergency management.

Incumbent Judge Lina Hidalgo announced in September 2025 that she would not seek a third term, opening the seat for the first time since 2018.

Orlando Sanchez

Sanchez, 68, served as Harris County treasurer from 2007 to 2018 and sat on the Houston City Council from 1995 to 2001, according to the Houston Chronicle's voter guide. He ran for Houston mayor twice, in 2001 and 2003. He won the Republican nomination in 2018 for county judge but lost to Democrat Dylan Osborne by more than 100,000 votes.

He won the May 26 GOP runoff with 65 percent of the vote over businessman Warren Howell, The Texan reported.

Sanchez lists three priorities: cutting property taxes, creating a public safety district he says would allow more than 12,000 law enforcement officers in the region to respond to emergency calls, and spending the flood control bond money voters approved in 2018, according to Community Impact.

"I've served on the … Houston City Council, and I was the county treasurer for 12 years, so I'm the only one that has enough experience to come in and help fix this county, particularly with respect to taxes, crime, infrastructure, [and] flooding," Sanchez told FOX 26 Houston on March 3, according to The Texan.

Letitia Plummer

Plummer, a practicing dentist, was elected twice to the Houston City Council. She stepped down from her at-large council seat in December 2025 to run for county judge. Her final council meeting was Dec. 17, 2025, according to Houston Public Media.

She entered politics in 2018 as a candidate for Congressional District 22, lost in the primaries, then won a council seat in a runoff, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Plummer defeated former Houston Mayor Annise Parker in the May 26 Democratic runoff with 51 percent of the vote, leading by about 2,500 votes out of 113,000 cast, The Texan reported.

Her stated priorities include equal pay, disaster recovery and conditions at the Harris County Jail, according to ABC13. She has also advocated for expanding the county's public defender's office and using non-police response teams for some calls, The Texan reported.

Primary turnout and the road ahead

In the March 3 primaries, about 335,000 Harris County voters cast Democratic ballots compared to 192,000 Republican ballots, The Texan reported. Bill King of the Rice University Baker Institute told The Texan the turnout pattern resembled the 2018 midterms, when Democrats swept countywide elections.

Republicans have not held the county judge seat since Hidalgo defeated Republican Ed Emmett in 2018.

The voter registration deadline is Monday, Oct. 5. Early voting runs from Monday, Oct. 19 through Friday, Oct. 30. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.