On Jan. 15, a Tarrant County district court Judge Ken Curry ruled that Wilcox could remain on the Republican\u2019s primary ballot for now and that GOP chairman Tim Davis could no longer pursue her removal. Unless Davis appeals, Wilcox\u2019s candidacy stands.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought campaigning was going to be hard. I didn\u2019t know that I was actually going to have to, in the end, fight my own party over some application,\u201d Wilcox said.<\/p>\n
Wilcox faces Keller Mayor Armin Mizani <\/a>and Colleyville businessman Fred Tate<\/a> in the GOP primary race for Texas House District 98, which includes Keller, Grapevine and parts of Southlake. The seat is currently held by state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, who isn\u2019t seeking reelection<\/a>. Whoever wins the March 3 primary election faces the Democratic nominee in November.<\/p>\n Davis removed Wilcox<\/a> from the ballot Jan. 7, saying she filed for election using a federal form instead of a state one. The two forms are nearly identical, with one central difference being that the state\u2019s form includes a clause that acknowledges laws against nepotism.<\/p>\n On Jan. 9, Wilcox sued Davis, arguing that he didn\u2019t follow election law and had tainted her campaign. On Jan. 12, a Tarrant County district court judge, Don Cosby, granted a temporary restraining order to Wilcox.<\/p>\n Davis, a lawyer who was tapped to be GOP chair in November<\/a>, declined to comment.<\/p>\n Wilcox, who owns a health and beauty business, argued that she should have been allowed to correct the filing error. She attempted to do so in mid-December, when she was made aware of the filing issue but heard no response from the state, Wilcox said.\u00a0<\/p>\n A few days later, she formally received a place on the primary ballot and assumed the matter was remedied. Wilcox noted she had already acknowledged nepotism laws when she appointed a campaign treasurer before the filing deadline.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve acknowledged it. It\u2019s not a fatal issue, like, for example, lying about my date of birth or my address,\u201d she said. \u201cThe judge agreed.\u201d<\/p>\n In the courtroom, Wilcox represented herself and argued that election officials are supposed to work with filers and campaign hopefuls. She said the laws aren\u2019t in place to create a \u201cgotcha system\u201d that surprises candidates with removals.<\/p>\n She feels Davis\u2019 treatment of her amounted to retaliation for running against Mizani \u2014 who has called the county chairman his friend \u2014 and for not falling in line with the local GOP, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Davis acknowledged Wilcox\u2019s removal in a Facebook post last week, saying his actions were focused on election integrity.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was not the result of some vast conspiracy, despite whatever Mrs. Wilcox wants to allege. Instead, it\u2019s the outcome of choices she made with her filing,\u201d Davis wrote.<\/p>\n Davis responded to Wilcox\u2019s initial cease and desist letter in an email saying that her demands were baseless, according to copies of the emails reviewed by the Report.<\/p>\n Wilcox\u2019s court proceedings are just a piece of countywide ballot uncertainty heading toward the March 3 election, which sees early voting opening Feb. 17.\u00a0<\/p>\n Davis also challenged seven Democratic judicial candidates<\/a>. A few days later, the local Democratic Party challenged<\/a> all 41 GOP judicial candidates and two Texas House candidates on the primary ballot.<\/p>\n The challenges are now being reviewed by Davis and Democratic chair Allison Campolo.<\/p>\n Curry, who issued the ruling in favor of Wilcox, presided over the 96th District Court in place of Republican Judge Patrick Gallagher, who recused himself from the case.<\/p>\n Drew Shaw is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org<\/a> or @shawlings601<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/351B1D3A-78FB-4DCB-AB19-DCBCBF233627.PNG-683x1024.jpg\")
(Courtesy photo | Zee Wilcox)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Injunction-Order-Jan-15-2026-15-09.JPG-811x1024.jpeg\"){kind=spacer}
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