By Edmond Ortiz
Democratic and Republican primary runoff elections held in the San Antonio area May 26 had their fair shares of blowouts and narrow victories, including a high-profile match in the Bexar County district attorney’s race.
The primary runoff elections held locally and elsewhere in Texas filled out the Nov. 3 general election ballot. Here is a rundown on select area contests:
BEXAR COUNTY
Luz Elena Chapa, former Fourth Court of Appeals judge, was winning a close Democratic primary runoff election for criminal district attorney.
As of midnight, Chapa received 50.8% of the vote against Jane Davis, the juvenile division chief for outgoing District Attorney Joe Gonzales, according to Bexar County election data collected from 85% of polling precincts.
Chapa focused her campaign on issues such as fully funding the DA’s office, advocating for victims of crime, cutting the backlog of unprosecuted domestic violence cases, and repairing a fractured relationship between the DA’s office and local law enforcement agencies.
Chapa was endorsed by the likes of 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 highlighted her experience in the DA’s office, and her views on victim support, law enforcement collaboration, reforming the local justice system, and enhancing the DA’s office and making it more fiscally responsible.
The Democratic nominee meets Republican Ashley Foster, a former assistant district attorney, in the November general election. Foster was the lone Republican to file for district attorney.
Bexar County reported 9% voter turnout.
GUADALUPE COUNTY
Marion resident Stephen Germann will hold onto the Guadalupe County Precinct 4 commissioner’s seat for a second four-year term. Receiving 60% of the vote, Germann fended off a challenge from Joel Hicks, a former Cibolo City Council member.
Germann is a rancher and a business owner whose re-election campaign revolved around his experience as a county commissioner addressing issues such as infrastructure, managing growth, and ensuring a secure water supply. He also opposes entities eyeing setting up data centers in the area.
No Democrats filed for the Precinct 4 commissioner’s post. Guadalupe County recorded 13% voter turnout.
KENDALL COUNTY
Ricky Gleason, a financial advisor and a former Boerne Planning and Zoning Commissioner, will become the next Kendall County judge. He collected 51% in the Republican primary runoff to upset first-term County Judge Shane Stolarczyk.
Gleason campaigned on promises to improve water infrastructure, boost first responders, promote local businesses, cut property taxes, and protect property rights. He will face no Democratic challenge in the general election.
In Precinct 2, 57% of GOP voters cast a ballot for rancher and current Commissioner Andra Wisian, over business owner J.C. Taylor in their primary runoff.
Wisian prioritized issues such as fiscal conservatism, improving roads, and bolstering public safety, water conservation and aquifer protection in her re-election campaign.
Wisian will face no Democratic opposition this November. Precinct 2 includes Bergheim and portions of Boerne and Fair Oaks Ranch. Kendall County reported 23% voter turnout.
CONGRESS
Universal City resident Carlos De La Cruz, a U.S. Air Force veteran and business owner, won the GOP primary runoff for Congressional District 35, upsetting San Antonian and current District 118 State Rep. John Lujan.
A political upstart, De La Cruz appealed to supporters of President Trump, promising to concentrate on issues such as border security, law enforcement, economy, veterans and energy in a bid to represent the redrawn South Texas district.
De La Cruz won 59% of the vote against the veteran lawmaker Lujan, who was first elected to the state legislature in 2016 before losing a re-election bid in 2018. Voters returned Lujan to the state house in a special 2021 election.
Lujan lost his Congressional campaign despite being endorsed by several Texas conservative leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott, and San Antonio City Councilmembers Misty Spears and Marc Whyte.
De La Cruz will meet the Democratic primary runoff winner Johnny Garcia, a Bexar County sheriff’s deputy who received 61% vs. San Antonio-based community organizer Maureen Galindo.
Garcia is centering his campaign on issues such as ending President Trump’s tariffs in order to cut inflation, bolstering the Affordable Care Act, growing workforce development and apprenticeship programs, banning lawmakers from trading stocks, and raising funding for local law enforcement efforts to include resources for drug and mental healthcare treatment.
Galindo positioned herself as an anti-establishment outsider with progressive stances on several issues. She and supporters criticized Garcia for being a centrist or not holding onto traditional Democratic Party values.
However, Galindo made national headlines with controversial remarks about Israel, Jews and Zionism, and their alleged influence on U.S. politics. In one social media post, Galindo said she would turn an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detention center in Karnes City, Texas into a “prison for American Zionists.” Such comments resulted in a public rebuke of Galindo, from recalled endorsements to scathing critiques from liberals such as U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez of New York.
STATE LEGISLATURE
South Side native Marcus Cardenas claimed a narrow victory in the Republican runoff election in State Senate District 19.
A business owner, Cardenas tallied 51% of the vote against Schertz resident Robert Marks, a previous Schertz City Council candidate.
Themes such as public safety, economic development, public safety, education, and proper infrastructure to support growth are prominent in Cardenas’ campaign for the state senate.
Cardenas advances to the November election to 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 easily won the Democratic primary runoff for State House District 125, collecting 81% of the vote vs. Michelle Barrientes Vela, a former Bexar County constable,
A history teacher in the San Antonio Independent School District, Reyna walloped Barrientes Vela during the early voting period, May 18-22.
Reyna’s campaign for the state house prioritizes raising funding for public schools, widening access to affordable healthcare, emphasizing housing affordability, bolstering programs and protections for senior citizens, upgrading road and digital infrastructure, and expanding workforce development and care for military veterans.
“Thank you to every volunteer, every blockwalker, every precinct chair, every union and union member, my family, my team, and every single supporter who believed in this campaign. This victory belongs to all of us,” Reyna said on his Facebook campaign page. “But our work doesn’t stop here. Tomorrow, we keep fighting for our students, teachers, working families, seniors, veterans, and every neighbor across HD 125.”
With an opportunity to succeed retiring Democratic State Rep. Ray Lopez, Reyna will take on Republican Ricardo “Rick” Martinez, an entrepreneur and nonprofit founder, in the general election.
