By Edmond Ortiz
Voters in Bexar, Guadalupe and Kendall counties will return to the polls May 26 to settle a handful of elections that did not produce an outright winner in the March 3 Democratic and Republican primaries.
Early voting begins May 18 for the following select runoff elections; the primaries determine who will run in what is expected to be a highly contested Nov. 3 general election with multiple races and initiatives.
BEXAR COUNTY
Luz Elena Chapa, former Fourth Court of Appeals judge, and Jane Davis, juvenile division chief for outgoing District Attorney Joe Gonzales, are vying to be the Democratic nominee in November’s DA contest. Chapa was the top vote-getter in the March 3 primary with 23% followed by Davis’ 18%.
Chapa is campaigning for fully funding the DA’s office, being an advocate of victims of crime, reducing the backlog of unprosecuted domestic violence cases, and addressing a fractured relationship between the DA’s office and local law enforcement agencies.
Chapa has racked up significant endorsements from the San Antonio Police Officers Association, the Deputy Sheriffs Association of Bexar County, former County Judge Nelson Wolff, current Sheriff Javier Salazar, and Pct. 2 County Commissioner Justin Rodriguez.
Davis’ campaign emphasizes her experience in the DA’s office. She is also campaigning for victim support, law enforcement collaboration, reforming the local justice system, and enhancing the DA’s office and making it more fiscally responsible.
Davis has secured endorsements from four fellow contestants in the March 3 Democratic primary for DA, plus two local labor unions.
The Democratic runoff winner will meet Republican Ashley Foster, a former assistant district attorney, in the general election.
GUADALUPE COUNTY
The race for the Precinct 4 commissioners’ seat is down to incumbent and Marion resident Stephen Germann, who received 45% of the vote March 3, and former Cibolo City Councilmember Joel Hicks, who finished with 29%.
Seeking a second term, Germann is a rancher and a business owner whose re-election campaign is centered around his experience as a county commissioner addressing issues such as infrastructure, managing growth, and ensuring a secure water supply. He also has been a vocal opponent of entities eyeing the establishment of data centers in the area.
Population growth that has been highly visible in the western edge of Guadalupe County, in the cities of Schertz and Cibolo, has filtered into Precinct 4 communities such as Marion and Santa Clara.
Germann was key in efforts to garner funding for remodel of a building in Marion to accommodate relocation of the Precinct 4 offices.
Hicks’ campaign priorities include fiscal responsibility, county government transparency, boosting public safety, and making sure infrastructure supports the current wave of growth.
The winner of this GOP primary will have no Democratic challenger in November. This post carries a four-year term.
KENDALL COUNTY
Kendall County Judge Shane Stolarczyk seeks a second four-year term. He will be in the GOP primary runoff with Ricky Gleason, a financial advisor and former Boerne Planning and Zoning Commission member. Stolarczyk finished with 44% of the vote on March 3, followed by Gleason, who received 40%.
An attorney and military veteran, Stolarczyk’s priorities include addressing transportation issues in a growing county, forming a countywide fire and EMS emergency plan, protecting natural resources, fiscal responsibility, and curbing what he calls irresponsible development.
Gleason’s campaign has been centered around improving water infrastructure, boosting first responders, promoting local businesses, lowering property taxes, and protecting property rights. Gleason is active with several local civic groups and initiatives.
Lately, the campaign for Kendall County judge has gotten heated with detractors claiming Stolarczyk has more attention to his legal career than his role as the county’s top elected leader. Stolarczyk also recently said he and his wife are initiating divorce proceedings, but that issue has gotten some public scrutiny from critics.
Precinct 2 voters will determine whether they will be continued to be represented by rancher and current Commissioner Andra Wisian, or go with business owner J.C. Taylor. Wisian claimed 47% and Taylor got 38%.
Wisian’s main campaign themes are fiscal conservatism, improving roads, and bolstering public safety, water conservation and aquifer protection.
A member of the Fair Oaks Ranch Zoning Board of Adjustment, Taylor is advocating protection of the area’s natural resources and rural atmosphere, closer collaboration with regional cities, school districts and the state legislature, and long-term planning for the county’s growth.
The Republican primary victor will run unopposed Nov. 3. Precinct 2 includes Bergheim and portions of Boerne and Fair Oaks Ranch.
CONGRESS
San Antonian and current District 118 State Rep. John Lujan and Universal City resident Carlos De La Cruz, a U.S. Air Force veteran and business owner, will be in a GOP runoff election with a chance to represent Congressional District 35, a redrawn district.
Lujan placed first in an 11-candidate March 3 primary with 32% of the vote, followed by de la Cruz, who finished second with 26%.
Lujan is a retired firefighter and sheriff’s deputy who founded an information technology firm. He also serves for a variety of local civic organizations and initiatives.
Lujan has been campaigning for border security, improving healthcare access, property tax relief, economic development, public safety, and addressing fentanyl poisoning. He has been endorsed by numerous notable conservatives, namely Gov. Greg Abbott, State Sen. Donna Campbell, and San Antonio City Councilmembers Misty Spears and Marc Whyte.
De La Cruz’s campaign focuses on backing President Trump’s agenda, and is concentrating on issues such as border security, law enforcement, economy, veterans and energy. De La Cruz is touting endorsements from Trump.
Either De La Cruz or Lujan will meet the winner of a Democratic primary runoff between San Antonio-based community organizer Maureen Galindo, a former City Council contestant, and Johnny Garcia, who presently serves as Sheriff Javier Salazar’s public information officer.
Galindo is prioritizing affordability, proper fiscal oversight to ensure tax dollars are spent on the public good and not special interests, and participatory democracy, with a focus on civic education and events to aid the average resident.
Galindo also offers progressive solutions on a range of issues, such as immigration, gun violence and gun rights, healthcare, reproductive care, veterans affairs, and homelessness. She has stirred controversy with remarks about Jews and Zionism, although she has denied claims that she is antisemitic.
Garcia proposes ending President Trump’s tariffs in an attempt to lower inflation, strengthening the Affordable Care Act, expanding workforce development and apprenticeship programs, prohibiting lawmakers from trading stocks, and increasing funding for local law enforcement efforts to include resources for drug and mental healthcare treatment.
District 35 covers parts of east and south Bexar County, and stretches into Guadalupe, Wilson and Karnes counties.
Elsewhere, immediately following the March 3 GOP primary, Republicans in Congressional District 23 looked forward to a runoff election between beleaguered then-U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales and Helotes entrepreneur Brandon Herrera.
But one month later, Gonzales, a three-term incumbent, dropped his re-election bid and resigned from Congress in response to a growing backlash sparked by revelations that he had an affair with an aide who later died by suicide.
Gov. Greg Abbott has the power to order a special election to fill the vacant Congressional District 23 seat, whose occupant represents a wide swath stretching from western Bexar County through much of West Texas. However, Abbott has made no such move.
Herrera is now preparing for a general election match with Democratic primary victor Katy Padilla Stout, a San Antonio attorney.
STATE LEGISLATURE
The GOP runoff election in State Senate District 19 pits business owner and South Side native Marcus Cardenas, against Schertz resident Robert Marks, a previous Schertz City Council candidate. Cardenas received 44% and Marks claimed 32% in a March 3 primary that also included Universal City resident Adam Salyer.
Cardenas’ campaign themes include public safety, economic development, public safety, education, and proper infrastructure to support growth.
A military veteran, Marks is running on a platform of lower taxes, education reform, limited government, and improving care for fellow veterans.
The Republican primary winner will meet Democratic incumbent Roland Gutierrez. District 19 covers parts of Bexar, Guadalupe and Atascosa counties, and stretches to multiple Southwest Texas counties.
Educator Adrian Reyna and Michelle Barrientes Vela, a former Bexar County constable, will face each other in a Democratic primary runoff in a bid to succeed retiring Democratic State Rep. Ray Lopez in State House District 125.
Reyna placed first in a four-way March 3 primary with 39% of the vote, followed by Vela, who tallied 34%.
Reyna teaches history in the San Antonio Independent School District. He is a former state legislative aide, and is a member of the teachers’ union San Antonio Alliance, Local 67.
Reyna’s campaign advocates increasing funding for public schools, expanding access to affordable healthcare, addressing housing affordability, boosting programs and protections for senior citizens, improving road and digital infrastructure, and bolstering workforce development and care for military veterans.
Reyna has been endorsed by a number of past and present Democratic state lawmakers, including Ray Lopez, Diego Bernal, Jose Menendez, and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro.
Barrientes Vela made news in 2022 when she was convicted by a Bexar County jury for tampering with public records while she was a constable for Bexar County Precinct 2.
An appeals court overturned Barrientes Vela’s felony convictions in 2024, and she was formally acquitted of criminal charges the following year.
Having been experienced as a paralegal and a business owner, Barrientes Vela backs reforming the state justice system as part of her campaign for the state legislature. She also supports protecting voters’ rights.
The Democratic primary winner will take on Republican Ricardo “Rick” Martinez, an entrepreneur and nonprofit founder, in the general election.
What you should know
Voters who did not cast a ballot in the March 3 primaries are still eligible to vote in the runoff elections.
May 15 is the final day to apply for a mail-in runoff election ballot; May 26 is the final day for local elections officials to receive a filled-out mail-in ballot.
Early voting in Bexar County will be held 7 a.m.-7 p.m. May 18-22 at more than 40 sites. Election Day polling will be available 7 a.m.-7 p.m. May 26 at these locations.
Kendall County voters can cast an early voting period ballot between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. May 18-22 at the Kendall County Courthouse Annex, 221 Fawn Valley Drive in Boerne. These nine Election Day polling locations will be open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. May 26.
In Guadalupe County, early voting will be offered 7 a.m.-7 p.m. May 18-22 at five locations. Election Day voting will be available 7 a.m.-7 p.m. at these sites.
Alamo City Democrats will co-present a public candidate forum 6:30-8:30 p.m. May 13 at Pica Pica, 810 S.E. Military Drive. Democratic candidates from Congressional District 35 and runoff elections for Bexar County district clerk and county clerk are invited to meet voters.
