Lina Hidalgo could be Democrats? future in Texas. She has to make it through the midterms first.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who was elected as part of Democrats' 2018 wave, faces the toughest situation of her brief political career so far. EMILY’s List, the national pro-abortion rights group that backs female Democrats, gave her its 2021 Rising Star award — previously won by the likes of Georgia’s Stacey Abrams and Massachusetts’ Ayanna Pressley before they gained greater national prominence.However, two issues have come back to hurt Hidalgo as she runs for reelection this year: the county’s botched administration of the March primary election — after building her reputation in part on expanding voting access and fighting the new voting law enacted by state Republicans last year — and controversy over a Covid-fighting contract that went to a political consulting firm.The election administrator Hidalgo selected, Isabel Longoria, resigned after some votes initially went missing during the March primary. “It’s the middle of an election year and I think it’s very clear that the motivations around this are just to harm me politically and it’s very sad to see the criminal justice system used that way.”Hidalgo’s office did not respond to multiple requests to schedule an interview.Though conservatives have tried to peg her as a hypocrite on transparency, Hidalgo’s tenure has been more open than her predecessors, said Odus Evbagharu, chair of the Harris County Democrats.