Harris County Democratic Party reprimands Houston Mayor John Whitmire, withholds future endorsement

Houston Mayor John Whitmire's political party of more than five decades admonished him on Sunday — barring the lifelong Democrat from receiving its endorsement in the future, according to multiple local precinct chairs who attended the meeting where a vote was held.

A progressive group within the Harris County Democratic Party pushed through the measure nearly eight months after Whitmire, who was a longtime state lawmaker before being elected mayor, attended a fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Houston Republican.

"Actions have ramifications," said Cameron "Coach Cam" Campbell, one of the precinct chairs who championed the measure. "You boast on being a 50-year elected Democrat, and you wait until you’re finally in a nonpartisan seat to show your tail. Pack light."

The move was largely symbolic. The party did not make an endorsement in the 2023 mayoral race because there were multiple Democratic candidates running for the nonpartisan position. If the same pattern holds true in 2027, the party would not make an endorsement regardless of the measure approved Sunday.



https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2025/12/14/538596/houston-mayor-whitmire-endorsement-harris-county-democrats/