Annise Parker leads Dem primary for Harris County judge as crowded GOP field splinters

By the numbers: Preliminary early vote results as of 7pm show 48.6% of the 199,091 Democrat voters supported Parker over 37.5% for Letitia Plummer, according to the Harris County Clerk's Office. Matt Salazar has 14% of the votes.

• For Republicans, Orlando Sanchez has 26% of the 111,352 early votes, with Marty Lancton recieving 22.4%. Warren A. Howell and Aliza Dutt both have about 20% as of 7pm, per early voting numbers.

Catch up quick: Parker, a former three-term Houston mayor, brings broad name recognition and executive experience. Plummer, a former at-large Houston City Council member, has framed herself as a community-centered alternative.

• On the Republican side, firefighters union president Lancton led recent fundraising with support from Gov. Greg Abbott, while Sanchez relied on longstanding local name recognition of being a former Harris County treasurer and Houston City Council member.

The big picture: The open-seat race is one of Texas' most closely watched local races, with both parties eyeing an opportunity in a county that remains politically competitive.

• Abbott has pledged to turn Harris County "dark red" after years of Democratic control.

Editor's note: This story will be updated.