Both County Clerk candidates J.J. Clemence and Tamara McFarlane have purchased campaign advertising on CoveringKaty.com at the same rate, with ads running in identical locations on the website for the same duration. Advertising with us doesn't shield candidates from scrutiny.
We have an update to this story here.
FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas (Covering Katy News) — Fort Bend County Clerk candidate Tamara McFarlane has been posting that she's been endorsed by Steve Toth, a Republican state representative from The Woodlands, but Toth says he's not endorsing anyone. In fact, his response does not clarify if he ever did endorse her.
Covering Katy News has multiple sources who say Toth is not endorsing McFarlane. Toth won't respond to our calls, likely because he does not want to be involved in controversy while he's running his own congressional race. So, we asked another politically active person to reach out on our behalf. A screen shot of the text exchange is below. This is how the conversation played out:
"I thought you rescinded this (endorsement)," the Republican asked Toth. "She does not have the support of precinct chairs who are the grassroots in Fort Bend County. Be careful," she continued.
"I'm not doing any endorsements," Representative Toth replied.
Toth is running in a Republican primary against incumbent Dan Crenshaw. Candidates often avoid endorsing others when they are running themselves, viewing it as politically risky since voters who dislike the endorsed candidate may withdraw support from them as well.
With McFarlane being a controversial candidate, who has made racially charged claims that don't stand up to scrutiny, and lots of back-channel chatter that Toth had rescinded his endorsement, Covering Katy determined to uncover the truth.
"Nothing against her, I'm just not endorsing," Toth said in a text message.
We are revealing this text conversation after Toth gave permission for it to be shared.
"Can I share this? I am not working for a candidate in that race but I am working in another race and a lot of his supporters are upset by Tamara's actions," the Republican wrote.
"Yes," Toth replied.
McFarlane's website does not list any endorsements. Opponent J.J. Clemence's website has a growing list of endorsements and it's a who's who of Fort Bend County Republican leadership. See Clemence's endorsement page here.
"This does not surprise me at all," Clemence said. "My opponent has not been truthful about me and now she's not being truthful about Representative Toth. I hope voters understand that's she's just not a truthful person."
A screenshot of the text exchange where Rep. Toth says he's not endorsing McFarlane and the February 11 post from McFarlane claiming he is endorsing her are posted below.
We asked McFarlane for her response to these developments but she did not provide a response.
Lawsuit vs. McFarlane update
A lawsuit filed by a roofer claiming McFarlane owes him nearly $11,000 has been transferred to a new judge. Precinct 1 justice of the peace Kelly Crow recused herself from the case Feb. 11 and transferred it to Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace Keisha Smith.
McFarlane was also recently sued by her homeowners association for building a water well in her yard in the upscale Grayson Lakes subdivision where water is already supplied by a municipal utility district.
Read more about both lawsuits against McFarlane here.
Also Read: Altered photo circulating in Fort Bend County Clerk's Race
A text exchange where State Representative Steve Toth writes that he's not endorsing Tamara McFarlane, even though McFarlane continues to claim he is endorsing her.
One of Tamara McFarlane's many post claiming she was endorsed by State Rep. Steve Toth who says he's not endorsing anyone. This was posed on Facebook on Feb. 11, 2026 at 8:34 am.