Fort Bend County Precinct 4 Commissioner Dexter McCoy announced Thursday evening that he will run for County Judge in next March’s Democratic primary.
McCoy, who has often served as a lightning rod for criticism and also a standard-bearer for the progressive movement in Fort Bend since being elected in 2022, made the announcement in a splashy video on his campaign website and on social media.
“This is our moment. This is our movement,” McCoy says in the video. “Join me in this fight for the people.”
McCoy is a Louisiana native who grew up largely in the Mission Bend area of Fort Bend and went on to become a staffer in the Obama White House and later as chief of staff to incumbent County Judge KP George (who switched his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican in June). He won the Democratic primary against incumbent Precinct 4 Commissioner Ken Demerchant in 2022 before winning the general election later that fall.
Since then, McCoy has made a name for himself championing progressive policies in a county that was once largely red but has become increasingly purple in recent years. McCoy, who is Black, has also led the effort to bring a new Black Cowboy Museum and an African American Heritage Monument to Bates Allen Park in the historic Black community of Kendleton.
He has also had a public falling-out with George, his former boss, especially over the highly contentious, Republican-led redistricting of county commissioner precincts this year.
McCoy joins a growing list of candidates from both the Democratic and Republican parties vying in next year’s race for County Judge, including George, who faces several criminal charges.
This is a developing story.
