Internal poll shows tied race for Harris County Commissioner primary runoff

A recent survey of 300 Democratic primary voters in Harris County Precinct 4 show a close race between commissioner candidates Lesley Briones and Ben Chou. 

That’s according to an internal poll shared with the Signal showing Briones with 34 percent of the vote, Chou with 35 percent, and 31 percent of voters undecided. 

The Chou campaign commissioned the March 30 – April 5 poll with Impact Research. The same poll shows Chou with the strongest name identification in the race (50%), and more than two-thirds of runoff voters (68%) find it convincing that Chou helped create drive-through voting during the 2020 election. 

Chou is a former official with Harris County Elections Department while Briones is a former civil court judge in the county. Both are running to unseat Precinct 4 Commissioner R. Jack Cagle, one of two remaining Republicans in the Harris County Commissioners Court.

In the March 3 runoff, Briones received 40 percent of the vote while Chou received 30 percent of the vote. 

“I’m running on my record of helping to create drive thru voting during the 2020 election, which made voting safer and more accessible for all,” Chou said in a prepared statement. “I’m also proud to be the only County Commissioner candidate who refuses to take contributions from companies that do business with the county because we have to end old school pay-to-play politics.”

Briones is endorsed by Houston-area members of Congress, Texas AFL-CIO and major Democratic caucuses. Chou is backed by former Houston Mayor Annise Parker and the Texas Organizing Project. 

Election day for the run off is on Tuesday, May 24.