Sean Teare Beats Houston D.A. Kim Ogg in Democratic Primary

The incumbent, Kim Ogg, had made herself a lightning rod within her party by tacking to the center and clashing with fellow Democrats.

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Sean Teare after a campaign event in Houston on Monday. He was a first-time candidate in the Harris County district attorney’s race.

Sean Teare, a former prosecutor and first-time candidate who promised new approaches to handling low-level criminal cases, defeated Kim Ogg, the two-term district attorney in Harris County, Texas, in the Democratic primary on Tuesday.

Ms. Ogg conceded the race on Tuesday night after early voting results showed her trailing by more than 50 percentage points.

“If doing my job cost me my job, then I leave with my head held high,” Ms. Ogg said.

The outcome punctuated years of growing Democratic discontent with Ms. Ogg, the top prosecutor in Houston, that culminated in a steep political fall over the past year. A poll last month by the University of Houston showed Mr. Teare, who started the race as a virtually unknown candidate, leading Ms. Ogg by 38 points.

First elected in 2016, Ms. Ogg was part of a wave of Democrats who promised to make the criminal justice system less punitive. She was the first Democrat in decades to hold the job of district attorney in Harris County.

But she went on to become a lightning rod within her own party.

As voters have become more concerned about crime in urban areas, liberal district attorneys around the country have seen their political fortunes shift. They have occasionally drawn challenges even from moderate Democrats.

Ms. Ogg had seemed to adapt to those shifting political tides by tacking to the center and finding common cause with some conservatives. But in doing so, she opened herself up to attack from her left.

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