Can Texas Really Turn Blue? Democrat Leticia Plummer Says the Time is Now

After a long history of Republican leadership, Democrats have been strategizing on how to flip the state of Texas blue. But if you ask the Democratic nominee for Harris County judge, Dr. Letitia Plummer, that moment may finally be here.

Dr. Plummer entered the 2026 Harris County race as an underdog against former Houston Mayor Annise Parker. In May, she defeated Parker and secured the nomination for the November general election. The result put Plummer, a Black Muslim woman and longtime small-business owner, at the center of one of the state’s most closely watched local races.

Now, as she campaigns in Harris County, Plummer is making a larger argument about Texas politics: The state may not be as reliably Republican as its reputation suggests.

“Oftentimes folks say that Texas is a red state, and that’s really not true,” Plummer said in an exclusive interview with The Root. “We’re a non-voting state.”

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In Texas, millions of uncast ballots have the potential to shape and shift elections. As Plummer explained to us, a key part of reshaping the narrative in Texas centers on voter turnout, particularly among communities that have historically felt disconnected from politics.

“Our voters have just been dormant because the expectation is, ‘We’re never going to get what we really want and need, since we’re such a conservative state,’” Plummer said of inactive voters. “We’re not blue, obviously, but we’re definitely a swing state. We’re turning more purple.”

Plummer sees her own campaign as part of that shift. Her victory was significant not only because of the candidates involved, but also because it represented Democratic voters seeking new leadership.

Plummer previously served on the City Council and built a 27-year career as a business owner. She is half Yemeni Persian and half Black, the daughter of an immigrant, Muslim, a single mother and a business owner. It’s those experiences that allow the Democrat to understand conversations happening across communities without abandoning her political values.

“I could walk into an independent room, and I could find some similarities in what we can resonate with,” she told us.

Running as a Black Muslim woman in Texas also means campaigning against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s second term. But while discrimination based on race, gender and religion is not new to her, the current political environment has made the noise louder.

“I’ve really had to dig deep into who I am and who my family taught me to be,” she continued. “The best thing that I can do is put my blinders on and focus on the end goal.”

That goal is unity across the country and within the Democratic Party.

Democrats have faced criticism for needing a clearer message that can connect voters across the spectrum. Plummer argued that Republicans are more successful at communicating a consistent set of talking points, while Democrats’ “big tent” can sometimes make their message harder to hear.

“We accept all, which is really amazing,” the Democrat said of her party. “But when you’re trying to win nationwide without a singular message, it is hard to consolidate folks. And I think that’s our problem. “

For Plummer, the stakes extend beyond Harris County. She believes policies she’s working to develop in Texas could become national models, particularly on issues affecting Black women, including health care, maternal mortality, environmental justice, flooding and economic opportunity.

And she sees representation as part of the equation.

“Our campaign has been really focusing on unity and hope: How do I bring every single culture together, lean on our similarities– deal with our differences later– but lean on our similarities?” Plummer told us.

Now, she will face off against former Harris County Treasurer Orlando Sanchez for a chance to become the first Black county judge in Harris County history.

“I truly believe it’s the first chance ever for us to take Texas,” Plummer said. “And when that happens, everything changes.”