As the nation anxiously awaits the results of the presidential race, so too does Tarrant County, where former Vice President Joe Biden has pulled slightly ahead of President Trump.
The results don’t matter nationally but may provide bragging rights for Democrats in a county that has been staunchly conservative for generations and has tilted left in recent years.
As the counting continues, Biden has 403,698 votes compared to 403,271 for Trump. That’s a difference of about 400 votes out of more than 800,000 cast.
The results won’t change the outcome in local races which have already been decided.
Tarrant County Democratic Chair Deborah Peoples predicted victory.
"Oh it's going to be Vice President Biden,” she said. “Hands down.”
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Republicans aren't conceding anything yet.
"I'm a cup half-full kind of guy at all times,” Tarrant County Republican Chair Rick Barnes said. “I'm always the positive thinker on everything."
Just the fact it's even close in Tarrant County is a sign of the times.
"I think it says Tarrant County is changing,” Peoples said. “The demographics are changing. Attitudes are changing. Some cultural mores are changing."
Barnes agreed -- to a point.
"Sure, I think our environment has changed,” he said. “We are going to have to address that from our perspective. But I don't think it's changed so much we need to give up yet."
The counting is usually done by now, but a printing problem meant some ballots couldn't be automatically scanned.
Biden is gaining as more of those mail-in ballots are counted.
About 15,000 ballots were still being counted Thursday.
"I want to join Dallas County, I want to join Travis County, I want to join Harris County as having delivered votes to the Biden-Harris camp,” Peoples said. “So yeah, I'm ready to get those last results."
"The reality is we still have the rest of the ballot to look at,” Barnes countered. “Cornyn is still the clear winner. All of our House incumbents are still clear winners."
It's true Republicans remain in control of many key offices in Tarrant County.
Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley is Republican.
So is Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, even though city elections are non-partisan.
But it's also true that Democrat Beto O'Roarke carried Tarrant County two years ago in his unsuccessful bid to unseat Sen. Ted. Cruz.
And now, Biden appears poised to take Tarrant County when the final votes are counted.
While the race is still razor-thin, Biden appears to be gaining as more of the mail-in vote is counted, mirroring a trend seen in other states where the counting is also still underway.
It’s not clear how long it will take to finish the final tally in Tarrant County but Barnes said it could be as early as Friday.
