The country’s largest “red” city has a RINO mayor

By Easton Martin

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, a Republican who has led the city since June 2021, has broken with the Texas Republican Party to endorse Democratic nominees in two major statewide races ahead of the general election.

In the race for Texas Railroad Commissioner, Parker endorsed Democratic State Representative Jon Rosenthal over Republican nominee Bo French. The Railroad Commission serves as the primary regulatory agency overseeing the Texas oil and natural gas industry. Parker issued her endorsement of Rosenthal following public controversy surrounding French’s social media commentary.

In the race for Texas Attorney General, Parker backed Democratic State Senator Nathan Johnson of Dallas over Republican State Senator Mayes Middleton of Galveston, citing prior legislative collaboration with Johnson.

While backing Democrats in those two statewide contests, Parker endorsed Republican incumbent Tim O’Hare for Tarrant County Judge and Republican Patricia Burns for Tarrant County Probate Court. In the U.S. Senate race between Republican nominee Ken Paxton and Democratic State Representative James Talarico, Parker remained undecided after having supported incumbent Senator John Cornyn during the Republican primary earlier in the cycle.

Tarrant County is the largest Republican county in the U.S., and all eyes are on it to see what happens in the upcoming midterm races.