Texas judge urges Christians to get out and vote 'if you care about souls'
A Texas county judge says Christians “who care about souls” have a duty to get out and vote in the midterm elections next month, saying it's imperative for churches to mobilize voters.
During an appearance on the “Wake Up Church” podcast Tuesday, Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare spoke with Pastor Chris Cheema of Mercy Culture Church in Fort Worth about faith, family, government and elections and described how his Christian beliefs shape his approach to public office.
“What is at stake is our American way of life,” O’Hare said. “What is at stake is freedom. What is at stake is the ability to freely worship. What is at stake is the ability to tell others about Jesus.”
O’Hare, the Republican incumbent running against Democratic Commissioner Alisa Simmons for Tarrant County judge, also encouraged Christians to vote and to persuade others in their communities to participate in elections.
“If you care about souls, it’s not enough to go to church and sit in there and sing on Sunday mornings,” he said. “If you care about souls, you get out and vote.”
Last Sunday, O'Hare spoke at For Liberty & Justice's Team Night at Mercy Culture Church. The nonprofit, founded out of the church, trains activists and candidates to run for local office.
For Liberty & Justice touts that its “liberty rallies” have "influenced the decisions of local school boards and city councils to lead with Christian values in Tarrant County."
The organization has supported dozens of candidates who share its biblical values who "have won their elections in Tarrant County, Texas alone," including For Liberty & Justice founder Nate Schatzline, who served as a Texas state representative from 2023 to 2026 and now works as a senior advisor to Gov. Greg Abbott.
On the podcast, O’Hare urged listeners to vote Republican all the way down the ballot and challenged Christians to personally encourage anyone they know to go to the polls.
“You need to make it your responsibility, your personal mission, to get 50 people that you know to the polls,” he said, adding that such efforts “could be the difference between saving America and losing America.”
Calling it “imperative that the Church mobilize” for the Nov. 3 election, O’Hare said he doesn’t believe most Christians will “stay on the sidelines” for the midterms.
“I’ve seen these stats, and I don’t know how much I buy them, but the stats are that half of Christians are registered to vote and only half vote,” he said. “I can tell you, I don’t think that’s true in my church. I know my church has way more registered voters than half of them, and way more than half of them are voting.”
Texas voters weigh several closely contested statewide races this year.
In the tight U.S. Senate race, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, whom President Donald Trump endorsed shortly before the primary runoff, faces Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, a seminary student who is campaigning as a boldly progressive Christian candidate. Talarico has been the subject of numerous national headlines for theological statements he's made over the years.
Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa are locked in a tight gubernatorial race.
Regardless of whether Christians feel politically engaged by what’s at stake, O’Hare said the Church has a biblical mandate to turn out the vote.
“I think the point of it is, God does not call us to sit on the sidelines,” he said. “He calls us to take action. And He doesn’t just call us to pray and then sit on our hands.”
The Christian Post reached out to O’Hare for comment Thursday but did not receive a response.
According to O’Hare’s campaign, he is a fifth-generation Texan and previously spent more than two decades practicing law and working in real estate. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and the SMU Dedman School of Law and lives in Southlake with his wife, Christen, and their four daughters.
As the podcast concluded, O’Hare also cited the placement of a Ten Commandments monument outside the historic Tarrant County Courthouse in January, saying the county was the first of Texas’ 254 counties to install such a monument — a bold decision, he said, that is still bearing fruit.
“We put a Ten Commandments monument there […] We were literally the only county out of 254 in the state of Texas that had put a Ten Commandments monument in front of the courthouse,” he said. “But you know what’s happened since? Amarillo’s done it or is doing it. Llano County is doing it. Rockwall County is doing it. Kaufman County is doing it. People are following suit."
“And here’s the deal: the only answer to every problem or issue is Jesus. That is the answer.”
