Bean leads Nicholson in Tarrant County clerk race

Democrat Lydia Bean held 321,566 votes, or 57.1%, to Republican incumbent Mary Louise Nicholson's 242,061 votes, or 42.9%, in the Tarrant County clerk race on Tuesday, Nov. 3, according to unofficial results from Tarrant County Elections. Bean led by 79,505 votes, a margin of 14.2 percentage points, with 563,627 votes counted. The count is not complete.

If Bean's lead holds, it would end Nicholson's 15-year tenure as county clerk and flip the office to Democratic control.

What was at stake

The county clerk is the record-keeper for commissioners court and county courts. The office is also custodian of birth and death records, marriage licenses and property deeds, as the Fort Worth Report reported. The clerk also serves as vice chair of the Tarrant County Elections Commission.

The key issues:

• Transparency and accountability: Bean campaigned on greater participation and transparency in the county budget and said she would conduct a performance audit of the clerk's office. Nicholson focused on balancing service delivery with budgetary restraint.
• Fraud prevention: Both candidates emphasized protecting property records. Nicholson supported a 2021 state law requiring photo identification to file certain property documents and launched a free notary fraud alert service. Bean pledged to fight deed fraud and ensure compliance with the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
• Elections oversight: Bean said she would protect free and fair elections in her role as vice chair of the elections commission.

A little history

Nicholson, 60, has served as Tarrant County clerk since 2011 and ran unopposed in the spring 2026 GOP primary. Before taking office, she served on the Tarrant County Sheriff's command staff, according to candidate records. Bean, 45, is a small-business owner who won the Democratic primary against Gregoire Lewis. She previously ran for Texas House District 93 in 2020, losing to Matt Krause, and for U.S. House Texas District 6 in a 2021 special election, losing to Republican Jake Ellzey in a runoff, according to Fort Worth Report coverage published in September.

What's next

The results remain unofficial until the canvass is complete. Under state law, the local canvass for the Nov. 3 election must occur no earlier than Friday, Nov. 6, and no later than Tuesday, Nov. 17, according to a Texas Secretary of State election advisory. Late-arriving domestic mail ballots postmarked by 7 p.m. on Nov. 3 may be counted if they arrive by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4. Military and overseas ballots may arrive through Monday, Nov. 9. Provisional ballots must be counted by Monday, Nov. 16.

The winner will serve a four-year term as county clerk.

Election results: Tarrant County Clerk (Texas General Election, 2026-11-03)

Source: Tarrant County Elections. Results current as of Nov. 3, 2026, 7:06 p.m. CST. Reporting: 0 of 864. Unofficial results; the count is not complete.