Lauren Davis, a local business owner and mother of three, is the only non-attorney running in the Republican primary for Dallas County Judge. Her candidacy has recently grabbed the attention of national media outlets.
Davis told The Dallas Express that she is running “to hold the line on every Dallas County citizen’s individual liberties.”
The candidate has previously garnered attention for opposing mask mandates in Dallas ISD schools, which she called “a gross overreach of government.”
When her children’s Montessori school mandated that all students wear masks, Davis told her kids not to comply.
“Unfortunately, Dallas ISD decided to take our parental rights away from Pierce and Caroline, who had documented medical traumas and physician exemptions from wearing masks in school,” Davis states on her campaign website.
In turn, Davis said the school isolated and targeted her 11-year old daughter and 13-year old son.
“They showed up on the first day of school in defiance of the unlawful mandates without a mask, and they were the only two out of 604 kids in the school. And the school in the district made our family a political enemy and treated my kids as though they were the virus themselves,” Davis said during an interview with Fox News.
Davis expanded on the the treatment her children received during her Fox News interview, saying the mandates turned “educators into enforcers.”
“They took my daughter behind cones in P.E. class while the other kids played in front of her. And they took [my children] and removed them from education, put them in the library. Built a box around them. My daughter in sixth grade had another fifth-grade boy tell her she deserves to die,” Davis said.
Davis told The Dallas Express that the reason her candidacy has drawn attention from national media outlets is because of “a national wave of parents waking up and standing up to the government.”
“My candidacy is part of this movement, and more specifically, it is breaking the mold of parents only running for school board,” Davis said. “Parents across the nation will be inspired by my race to get active in all local government.”
Davis says a lot of her supporters are parents inspired by her “journey of taking a stand for parental rights and our children’s inalienable rights.”
“Many families, and mothers especially, realize that we are in a battle to save our families and protect our parental rights,” Davis continued. “Children are the target, and this has ignited the maternal instincts of mothers across Texas and the nation,” she asserted.
Davis’ lone opponent in the Republican primary is Edwin Flores, a Dallas ISD trustee and attorney. Flores was first elected as a DISD trustee in 2005, left in 2012, and won his seat back in 2015. In his last two elections, 2018 and 2021, he ran unopposed. Flores has represented the northernmost part of Dallas ISD, including Thomas Jefferson and W.T. White high schools.
The Dallas Express reached out to the Flores campaign for more information on his candidacy but did not receive a response.
Flores has been critical of Dallas’ current county judge, Clay Jenkins.
“Recently, we have witnessed the erosion of our rights by irresponsible decisions decreed by judges like my opponent Clay Jenkins,” Flores wrote in a Facebook post on December 30. “They are letting criminals walk free, failing to deport criminal immigrants, issuing ridiculous mandates, and ignoring the main responsibility of government – protecting its citizens.”
Both Flores and Davis have their work cut out for them when it comes to winning the general election. No Republican has held the Dallas County Judge seat since 2002 when Margaret Keliher received 50.51% of the vote. She served until 2006.
The Democratic incumbent Jenkins is running for his fourth term as county judge. He has held the seat since 2010. Jenkins, an attorney, has been the face of the county’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He imposed lockdown orders in 2020 and has been a strong opponent of Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s orders to ban mask and vaccine mandates, challenging both measures in court.
Jenkins told The Dallas Morning News that his priorities in a fourth term would be ending the fight against COVID-19 as well as funding mental health and other social services with federal money from the American Rescue Plan and CARES Act.
The Dallas Express also reached out to the Jenkins campaign for more information about his candidacy and stances on issues, but they did not respond.
Jenkins’ sole opponent in the Democratic primary is Cedar Hill attorney Billy Clark.
Clark told The Dallas Express he decided to run because he can work with Republicans and Democrats and has “witnessed how misguided the current county judge is.”
“Team cohesion is in need of immediate improvement. Unfortunately, it will not happen under the current county judge,” Clark stated. “Jenkins fights against his fellow Democrats and the lone Republican commissioner.”
“Our county is in need of a leader who can work with Democrats and Republicans and not be so political on every single issue,” he said.
Clark also said he is “pro-business” while asserting that “Jenkins wants business to suffer and fail.”
“[Jenkins] has placed hurdles on many businesses that have resulted in thousands of businesses permanently closing their doors due to loss of revenue and employees,” Clark said. “I believe our county should do everything possible to encourage and strengthen businesses.”
Clark also said he wants to bring diversity to the position. Since the county judge seat was created in 1866, only white men, with the exception of one white woman, have held the seat.
“Our county is diverse,” said Clark. “Our county government should reflect the flavor of Dallas County.”
Clark also said reducing crime will be one of his top priorities.
“Our county does not support fighting crime in a manner that citizens and tourists feel [is] safe,” Clark said. “High crime also prevents businesses from establishing [themselves] in Dallas county. We need to lead efforts in crime reduction.”
As for mask mandates, Clark agrees with the Republicans in the race that students should not be forced to wear masks in schools.
“I believe that our parents should decide whether their child wears a mask in school or not,” Clark said. “Too many kids have been suspended, had medical issues, and faced personal attacks because of a mask.”
The last day to vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary will be election day on March 1.