Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, a far-left progressive Democrat, hopes that Hanoi Jane will help her get out the vote when early voting begins in Texas on Monday. Jane Fonda flew into Houston Saturday to block walk in the East End of Houston. Will Jane Fonda move the needle for Hidalgo, who finds herself in a tough re-election race against a Republican political newbie?

The answer to that question is no, Hanoi Jane’s appearance will likely backfire on Hidalgo, not help her. The East End in Houston is a majority Hispanic area of the city and includes two of Houston’s oldest Hispanic neighborhoods. Hidalgo has a history of not being able to read a room. The mood among Harris County voters is not in favor of an 85-year-old Hollywood actress and a traitor to her country being the poster woman for Hidalgo’s voter outreach.

Hanoi Jane came to Houston because her PAC, the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, has endorsed Hidalgo. As the PAC’s name indicates, Fonda is laser-focused on eliminating fossil fuels and politicians who support the American oil and gas industry. This is where I remind you that Houston is the energy capital of the United States. Lina Hidalgo tries to push a green agenda in Harris County and Fonda recognized that.

The PAC endorsed Hidalgo, with the explanation that during her first term in office, “Hidalgo has prioritized tackling root causes and direct impacts of climate change and air pollution.”

“While governing through multiple disasters, including Winter Storm Uri and various chemical explosions — time and again the judge and her team have invested in the communities most at risk, advanced green infrastructure, focused on preventing and mitigating future disasters and set a model for the rest of the nation as a renewable energy corridor.”

So thrilled that @JaneFonda is joining us to help turn out the vote in Harris County! Come out with us for a blockwalk this Saturday ☀️With just 2 days til Early Voting, we’re working harder than ever! https://t.co/TDwU9cMKVa

— Lina Hidalgo (@LinaHidalgoTX) October 21, 2022

It doesn’t sound like Fonda brought out a large crowd. Fifty people are reported to have been there when Fonda spoke.

“There’s nothing more important than canvassing and showing up on people’s doorsteps and talking to them about a candidate,” Fonda said. “It’s more important than TV ads, and it’s more important than leaflets and flyers. It shows that you care enough to take time out of your weekend to do this because you believe in the candidate.”

“I thank you for helping to elect this brave, tiny little woman,” Fonda said in front of over 50 Hidalgo supporters.

Activist @Janefonda joins @LinaHidalgoTX rallying volunteers before a block walking organized by the Texas Organizing Project Pact @HoustonChron pic.twitter.com/sQDLwISh0B

— Yi-Chin Lee (@_yichinlee) October 22, 2022

That’s Hidalgo standing behind Fonda in the white shirt, applauding for herself. Hidalgo buys into her publicity. She’s a darling of the Democrat Party. She’s very young, only 31 years old right now, and the first woman and the first Latina to be elected as Harris County Judge. She was born in Bogota, Colombia, and lived in Peru and Mexico City before moving to Houston, Texas, when she was 15. Lots of fawning was done because she was so young and, of course, the immigrant angle. The position is a non-judicial one, it is the county CEO position and chief emergency manager. She is in charge of the county, and the Mayor of Houston is in charge of the city. Harris County is the third most populous county in the United States, with a population of more than 4.5 million people. She had no experience in elected political office before she was elected in a blue wave in 2018. Harris County had a history of being a red county with Houston being a blue big city. Sadly, that changed in the 2018 election.

Hidalgo’s office has been dogged by corruption. The corruption looks to come from the top down. It is commonly thought that Hidalgo herself could be indicted for how COVID-19 money was spent.

Three employees of Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo have been indicted by a grand jury on charges related to how they helped award a contract for COVID-19 vaccine outreach last year.

The Harris County district clerk lists two felony counts each for chief of staff Alex Triantaphyllis, policy director Wallis Nader and former policy aide Aaron Dunn. The charges are misuse of official information and tampering with a government record.

The charges add weight to a scandal Hidalgo has attempted to dismiss as politically motivated, and they threaten to tarnish her carefully cultivated image as an ethically minded public servant as she seeks reelection this year. Hidalgo is widely seen as a rising star in the Texas Democratic Party and a future statewide candidate.

Hidalgo’s Republican challenger is Alexandra del Moral Mealer. Mealer has the wind at her back in this campaign and has an excellent shot at winning the race. Mealer is running on the issues that voters care about – crime, the open border, and taxes. She is everywhere and talking to everyone. Hidalgo is not. She is hiding like a lot of Democrats this cycle. To see television ads in support of Hidalgo, you’d think that abortion is the top priority of Harris County voters. It is not. And, the Harris County Judge has nothing to do with abortion. Hidalgo even tries to bring Trump into the race but Trump has not weighed in on Mealor’s campaign one way or the other. Mealor has the support of someone more consequential in Harris County – Jim McIngvale, a.k.a. Mattress Mac. He’s a very wealthy local business man (the furniture business and he sells a lot of mattresses) known for making outrageously large sports bets. He’s a conservative Republican and Houstonians from all walks of life love him. His philanthropic activities are legendary.

Mealer has an impressive resume. She attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, served as an Explosive Ordinance Disposal officer (bomb squad), and she served in Afghanistan. After that, according to her campaign website, she “graduated from Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School before moving to Houston to pursue a career in energy finance, where I worked on the execution of billion-dollar transactions as a strategic advisor on mergers & acquisitions and capital markets financing for public and private companies.” She has the support of oil billionaires.

Polling has been scarce but Hidalgo is deeply unpopular, especially with the rise in crime in Harris County and independent voters are showing support for Mealer. The liberal Houston Chronicle endorsed Mealer over Hidalgo. Will enough Democrats in Houston turn out for Hidalgo or will the voters in Harris County come out in strong enough numbers for this midterm election to elect Mealor? That is the question and it’s a toss-up right now. I know who I’m voting for and I hope the red wave reaches Harris County, at least in this race.