Tarrant County, the largest swing county in Texas between Republicans and Democrats, is expected to see plenty of attention from candidates over the next 10 weeks as the November election approaches. Democratic state lawmaker Gina Hinojosa, who is running for governor, met Tuesday morning with De mocratic candidates, party leaders and voting rights advocates to strategize for the final stretch of the campaign. The county is also at the center of a contentious debate over whether to eliminate or change voting locations ahead of the November election. A Republican proposal sparked a raucous Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting earlier this month, and the debate is expected to return in early September. “Tarrant County has experienced so much growth and change in the county. People really have been engaging politically in a way that is exciting to see,” Hinojosa said. Tarrant County has been at the center of several major political battles in Texas. The nationwide struggle over redrawing legislative boundaries started there. The county was also the site of a surprise Democratic victory for a state Senate seat and is home to Fort Worth ISD, the area’s largest school district, which the state of Texas took over. Inflation and the cost of living were also top of mind Tuesday. “Reducing property taxes as much as we can, and if we can eliminate them, great, and I think the place where we find funding is to eliminate all those corporate giveaways as corporate tax giveaways that has really underpinned our economic development in this state,” Hinojosa said. Gov. Greg Abbott has also made property tax reform a key part of his reelection strategy. Abbott previously met with Tarrant County’s Republican county judge and commissioners about his effort to limit local spending, require elections for tax increases and use state money to “buy down” and eliminate local school taxes. “One way we go to work for them is reducing their cost of living. And one of the best ways we can reduce their cost of living is by cutting their property taxes. That’s exactly what we will do,” Abbott said. Both candidates have made recent trips to Tarrant County, with many more visits expected as the fall campaign intensifies. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication. ...read more read less