Candidate submitting closed Monday night for the 2026 midterms, setting the stage for a really totally different election than the final time most Bexar County places of work have been on the poll in 2022.
This time round, no elected Republicans signaled curiosity within the Bexar County choose race, leaving the celebration scrambling for a candidate till the ultimate day of submitting when social conservative activist Patrick Von Dohlen put his title within the hat.
The blue county has lengthy been robust for Republicans, however favorable political winds final election cycle lured then-GOP Commissioner Trish DeBerry (Pct. 3) out of a seat she’d simply gained to wage an uphill marketing campaign for county choose.
Even in 12 months for the GOP, nonetheless, DeBerry took simply 39% of the vote in her race in opposition to in opposition to Democrat Peter Sakai.
Because the lone GOP filer for 2026, Von Dohlen will face the winner of a heated major between two of Democrats’ best-known candidates, Sakai and former Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who can be combating it out for his or her celebration’s nomination within the March major.
He’ll even be the highest of the GOP’s county ticket in an election that encompasses a hard-fought District Legal professional race in addition to different countywide places of work and a variety of judicial races.
“He’s a former candidate on a number of races, however you recognize what, I’m simply so excited that he’s in there,” stated Republican Occasion of Bexar County Chair Kris Coons. “We weren’t in a position to [field a candidate] in each race, however I attempted very arduous, as a result of I believe for us in Bexar County, that’s the place we’ve acquired to begin.”
Even amongst fellow Republicans, Von Dohlen is usually a polarizing determine.
The conservative firebrand ran unsuccessfully for Metropolis Council 3 times in District 9, in 2017, 2019 and 2021, sending then-Councilman John Braveness to a runoff in that closing race.
Lately, he’s been part of quite a few lawsuits difficult the town over points like its abortion journey fund and plans for VIA’s Superior Speedy Transit route referred to as the Inexperienced Line.
His PAC, the San Antonio Household Affiliation, sought unsuccessfully to advertise a slate conservative faculty board candidates in North East ISD, and most just lately led a prayer vigil protesting the Krampus Parade in King William.
In a assertion to supporters, Von Dohlen stated he too hoped for a strong Republican challenger within the county choose race. However when none emerged, he determined it shouldn’t go uncontested.
“I is perhaps the least among the many best-qualified to serve and lead the county, however I’ve been blessed with the vitality and fervour to serve,” he stated.
A troublesome 12 months, a tricky county
Practically all of Bexar County’s countywide places of work are on the poll in 2026.
However headed into the primary midterm of President Donald Trump’s administration — when the celebration in energy sometimes loses seats — many native Republicans appear to be hunkering down for higher circumstances sooner or later.
“I’ll be trustworthy, it’s been very robust to recruit,” Coons stated of this election cycle. “We’ve seen lots of nice folks, you recognize, instantly simply determine this wasn’t for them.”
The GOP controls only a single seat on the five-member Commissioners Court docket, the place Commissioner Grant Moody (Pct. 3) thought-about leaving to pursue an open congressional seat this 12 months.
Moody weighed the choice proper as much as Monday’s deadline however finally determined to remain in his commissioner seat the place he’s not up for reelection till 2028.
“Though a viable path exists, the challenges it might current to our household are important and subsequently I’ve concluded that that is simply not the best time,” he stated in a press release Monday. “There can be different alternatives and I guarantee you I’m not finished serving Bexar County, Texas or our nice nation.”
Nonetheless, Coons stated recruitment this 12 months went higher general than two years in the past, when the GOP didn’t discipline a single judicial candidate.
“Final time round 24 Democrats went [into office] with out even having to carry a finger,” she stated.
This 12 months Republicans have 9 judicial candidates working throughout a complete of 40 bench seats.
“Clearly, we didn’t recruit 40 judges, however the ones that we’ve got, we really feel superb about,” Koons stated.
Democrats are in a really totally different state of affairs this election cycle, too. They already management each countywide workplace, however a lot of these incumbents, together with Sakai, face major challenges.
Bexar County Democratic Occasion Chair Michelle Lowe Solis stated the celebration additionally fielded candidates for essentially the most difficult races on their 2026 Texas legislative and congressional maps, an indication of Democrats’ optimism about their prospects within the first midterm of Trump’s administration.
“We will’t win if we’re not taking part in, and the Texas Democratic Occasion, together with the county events, have been targeted on ensuring we’ve got candidates working in each seat,” she stated. “This 12 months can be an necessary 12 months in pushing Democratic values.”
Bexar County DA race
Maybe essentially the most attention-grabbing Bexar County race for each events this election cycle is a gap within the District Legal professional’s workplace, the place incumbent DA Joe Gonzales, a Democrat, isn’t looking for reelection.
Democrats fielded eight candidates to take his place, together with three new names on the ultimate day of submitting: Trial lawyer Meredith Chacón, Jane Davis, who serves as chief of the Juvenile Part within the DA’s workplace, and James Bethke, government director of the Managed Assigned Counsel Workplace.
They be part of former Fourth Court docket of Appeals Justice Luz Elena Chapa (D), prosecutors Oscar Salinas and Angelica Carrión Powers, and legal protection attorneys Veronica Legarreta and Shannon Locke in a crowded Democratic major.
In the meantime Republicans have only one candidate working, Ashley Foster, a former felony prosecutor, who Coons stated was one among their most enjoyable recruits this cycle.
The race continues to be an uphill contest, however performs an necessary position as Republicans make their case in opposition to Democrats’ dealing with of legal justice points.
“[Ashley] has 14 years [of experience] within the DA’s workplace as a prosecuting lawyer, so she has nice trial expertise. She’s now in non-public observe, and has finished very nicely,” Coons stated. “She is a good candidate for us.”
