WHENEarly voting: Monday, Oct. 24, to Friday, Nov. 4
Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 8. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
WHEREVoters may submit their ballots at any designated voting location during early voting days and on Election Day.
Early Voting Locations & Hours Early Vote Centers MapFor your smartphone: Find a map of early voting locations by scanning this QR code.
WHAT TO BRINGA valid ID. Acceptable forms of ID include:
Texas Driver License issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPSTexas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPSTexas Handgun License issued by DPSUnited States Military Identification Card containing the person’s photographUnited States Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photographUnited States Passport (book or card)
If you don’t have a valid photo ID, here are other options.
WHO AND WHAT IS ON THE BALLOT
Review a generic Nov. 8 sample ballot for Bexar County here.
To generate a personalized ballot, check out the League of Women Voters’ Vote 411 guide. Just input your address below and you’ll see a list of candidates and propositions that will appear on your ballot, along with information about each of them.
Below is more information about the leading races and the candidates.
TEXAS GOVERNOR
Greg Abbott (R)Abbott is seeking his third term in the governor’s seat, an office he’s held since 2015. The Wichita Falls native previously served as Texas Attorney General from 2002 to 2015. His priorities include border security and growing the Texas economy.
Beto O’Rourke (D)The former El Paso Congressman gave U.S. Senator Ted Cruz a run for his money in 2018, losing by 3 percentage points. Since then, O’Rourke unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president before continuing to rebuild a Democratic base across the state. He has been critical of Gov. Abbott’s controversial border security program, and has championed reproductive rights, voting rights, and reform of the Texas power grid.
Mark Tippets (L)Tippets, an international business and legal consultant with a focus on Mexico, is a former city councilman from Lago Vista in the Hill Country. Tippets has advocated for immigration reform that includes a work visa program for migrants and the expansion of school vouchers.
Delilah Barrios (G)Barrios is a surgical technician from Brownsville. As the Green Party’s nominee, she is advocating for policy that takes climate change seriously, environmental justice, and civil rights protections.
AnalysisIncumbent GOP Gov. Greg Abbott is seeking his third term and is facing, arguably, his toughest race yet against former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke.
Abbott spent the past few years shoring up his base by signing into law some of the most restrictive abortion measures in the nation, expanding gun ownership and deploying the state national guard to the Texas-Mexico border. Abbott has hammered O’Rourke on immigration, attempting to tie him to the Biden administration’s policies. He’s also attacked O’Rourke for comments made during the Democrat’s failed presidential bid where he vowed to enact gun restrictions and take back AK-47s.
O’Rourke has spent most of the campaign bashing Abbott for the power grid failure during the 2021 winter storm. Many Texans were in the dark and without heat for days and an estimated 246 people were killed. He’s also criticized Abbott’s response to mass shootings in the state, most notably after the Uvalde shooting in May left 21 students and teachers dead. O’Rourke also says he’d work to loosen the strict anti-abortion laws in the state in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Abbott has consistently led O’Rourke in the polls but the results of the Kansas abortion referendum suggest that the overturn of Roe v. Wade could make this race closer than anticipated.
TEXAS LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
Dan Patrick (R)Patrick is seeking a third term in office. He is a former radio talk show host who turned to politics first as a state Senator then as Lt. Governor. He has the endorsement of former President Donald Trump and is known for spearheading some of the most conservative legislation, from the state’s abortion ban to its election election security bill.
Mike Collier (D)Collier is challenging Patrick once again after losing in 2018 by 5 points. Collier is a former Houston area accountant who worked in the oil and gas industry. He’s also a former Republican, who is an advocate for reproductive rights, addressing climate change, and reform of the state’s power grid.
Shanna Steele (L)Steele is a security consultant from the Houston area. Her priorities include legalizing marijuana and the elimination of property taxes.
AnalysisThis year’s lieutenant governor’s race is a rematch of an unexpectedly close 2018 matchup between GOP incumbent Dan Patrick and Democratic challenger Mike Collier.
Patrick has launched negative TV ads for the first time in nearly a decade, accusing Collier of being too close to President Biden and wanting “open borders,” a charge that Collier disputes. Collier was Biden’s senior advisor in the state during his 2020 presidential run. Patrick is campaigning on tighter restrictions at the Texas-Mexico border and potentially enacting tougher mandatory sentences for people using guns while committing crimes. He’s spent most of the fall on a bus tour of rural Texas, where he hopes to drive up GOP margins in the vote.
Collier has attacked Patrick for his role in the 2021 power grid failure and says he didn’t do enough to enact changes during the last legislative session. Collier has also racked up numerous endorsements from current and former Republican officeholders across the state who say Patrick’s governing style is too extreme and uncompromising. Collier resides in Kingwood and has not held public office. He’s worked in the energy industry as a CPA.
TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL
Ken Paxton (R)Paxton is seeking a third term in office. He is known for suing the Obama and Biden administrations, and he filed the unsuccessful lawsuit seeking to overturn the 2020 election. Paxton has the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. Paxton has also been under indictment for securities fraud for the past seven years and faces another federal corruption investigation.
Rochelle Garza (D)Garza is a former staff attorney for the ACLU. This is the Brownsville native’s first run for office. Her campaign has championed government accountability, reproductive rights, access to health care, and the protection of voting rights.
Mark Ash (L)Ash is an attorney in Houston who specializes in criminal law. Ash believes in the importance of jury nullification, the principle that juries can declare a defendant to be “not guilty” if they deem the law in question to be unjust, inhumane, or unconstitutional.
AnalysisThis is the most competitive statewide race.
The two-term incumbent has built up an extensive record of suing the Democratic administrations first of then-president Barack Obama and now of President Joe Biden, particularly on issues relating to immigration and border security. In between, Paxton positioned himself as a staunch supporter of then-president Donald Trump, going so far as to file an unsuccessful lawsuit with the Supreme Court to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election on Trump’s behalf.
Since 2015, Paxton has been under indictment on state securities fraud charges. He has also been under federal investigation since 2020 for allegedly using his office to help a political donor.
Paxton’s Democratic challenger is Rochelle Garza, a former staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union. Prior to announcing her candidacy, Garza was perhaps best known for successfully suing the Trump administration to defend the right of a teenaged immigration detainee to an abortion. Garza’s major campaign issues include protecting voting and reproductive rights and opposing Governor Greg Abbott’s anti-immigration policies.
TEXAS AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER
Sid Miller (R)Miller is seeking a third term as Agriculture Commissioner. The former state representative and businessman who breeds and trains quarter horses is a strong supporter of Former President Donald Trump. He has faced some controversy this year as a close friend of Miller and political consultant was indicted on felony charges of theft and commercial bribery related to taking money in exchange for state hemp licenses that are issued by Miller’s Department of Agriculture.
Susan Hays (D)Hays is a rancher and civil rights attorney from Brown County. Her top priorities include legalizing marijuana, expanding access to rural healthcare, and bringing transparency to the office. Hays worked on the 2019 law legalizing hemp.
Analysis In the races for Texas Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General and the other statewide offices down-ballot, perhaps the most impactful votes will be coming from rural Texas.
Democratic candidate for Governor Beto O’Rourke has been campaigning hard in ruby red rural Texas looking to convert voters blue. He’s delivering stump speeches about delivering health care, broadband and other vital services to the state’s agricultural heartland.
This mirrors what is also happening with the race for Texas Agriculture Commissioner. The two candidates, incumbent Republican Sid Miller and challenger Democrat Susan Hays, are running to represent and serve the pastoral parts of the state. But they offer different visions on how to accomplish that.
Hays has made transparency central to her campaign as Miller faces legal and ethical questions.
TEXAS RAILROAD COMMISSIONER
Wayne Christian (R)Christian, a former state representative and financial planner, is seeking a second term as Railroad Commissioner. He opposes energy reform in response to climate change, including alternative energy proposals and regulations, in order to keep energy prices low.
Luke Watford (D)Wateford is a former chief strategy officer for the Texas Democratic Party and his strategy for the office includes an investigation into natural gas suppliers who profited from last year’s deadly winter storm power failure and a regulated expansion of liquified natural gas (LNG) industry.
Hunter Crow (G)Crow previously ran for Arlington City Council. The Grand Prairie native wants to enact term limits for the Railroad Commission.
Jaime Andres Diez (L)Diez works in logistics and is a member of the Rio Grande Valley Blockchain Initiative. Diez criticizes the commission for protecting oil and gas drillers and operators at the expense of the public.
AnalysisOne of the three spots on the Texas Railroad Commission is up for grabs this year. Despite the name, the railroad commission doesn’t regulate railroads – its primary role is to regulate Texas’ oil and gas industry.
Christian’s challengers have framed the race as a challenge to the commission’s performance during last year’s deadly winter storm power grid failure.
Texas Land Commissioner
Dawn Buckingham (R)Buckingham is a physician and business owner who has served in the state Senate since 2017. She is vacating her seat to run for Land Commissioner. Buckingham, who counts the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, wants to fight what she calls “job-killing Green New Deal legislation” while exploiting Texas’ resources to lead the U.S. to “true energy independence.”
Jay Kleberg (D)Kleberg is a former associate director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation. He’s also a member of the family that owns King Ranch in South Texas. The former Republican is running on a platform of conservation.
Alfred Molison Jr. (G)Molison previously ran as the Green Party candidate for a Texas House seat in 2012 and for the Houston City Council.
AnalysisThe land commissioner manages state-owned land, oil and gas interests – and also supervises programs for Texas veterans.
The candidates are vying for the seat held by George P. Bush, who held the office since 2015, and ran an unsuccessful challenge to Attorney General Ken Paxton in the March 2022 primary.
Texas Comptroller
Glenn Hagar (R)Hagar is seeking a third term in office. Prior to assuming the Comptroller office in 2015, Hegar spent over a decade in the Texas House and Senate. He is known for his fiscal conservatism and support for some of the state’s most conservative policies, including anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ legislation and executive actions.
Janet Dudding (D)Dudding is a certified public accountant who retired early from her position at Texas A&M to run for office. She has called for legalizing marijuana and the expansion of medicaid.
V. Alonzo Echevarria-Garza (L)Echevarria-Garza is the city manager of Hearne in East Texas and previously worked as the town’s chief financial officer.
AnalysisThe Comptroller is the state’s top accountant, responsible for tax collection and revenue projection. The race is as much about the state’s finances as it is about national politics.
U.S. CONGRESS
D15
Monica De La Cruz (R)De La Cruz runs an insurance agency. Her platform includes tough immigration policies such as finishing the border wall. If elected, she seeks to end regulations that increase the cost of energy.
Michelle Vallejo (D)Vallejo manages a family run market and also co-founded an annual women’s entrepreneurship conference that provides resources and support for minority women in South Texas. If elected, Vallejo wishes to expand healthcare access and wants to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Ross Lynn Leone Jr. (L)Leone previously worked for the IRS and is now retired. He has run for Congress as a Libertarian for the last four election cycles.
AnalysisD-15 is a competitive race that leans Republican, according to Cook Political Report. Democratic Congressman Vicente Gonzalez currently represents the district that runs from the Rio Valley to just outside of San Antonio. He vacated his seat to run for the newly redrawn 34th Congressional District in South Texas.
D20
Kyle Sinclair (R)The challenger is a native Texan and former Army National Guard member with a background in health administration. In a recent interview with the Bexar County GOP, Sinclair said that, if elected, one of his main goals was to be “present and available” to constituents. He is also in favor of increased border security and immigration reform.
Joaquin Castro (D)The incumbent is a San Antonio native who has held this seat since 2013. Castro has also worked as an attorney and served five terms as representative for the 125th district in the Texas House of Representatives. This election cycle, he has campaigned on the cultivation of what he calls the “Infrastructure of Opportunity,” which includes great public schools and universities, a sound healthcare system, and well-paying jobs.
Adam Jonasz (I)The write-in candidate has experience working as an attorney and investigator with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. He also served in the U.S. Army from 2001 to 2015. According to a Ballotpedia candidate survey, Jonasz supports law enforcement and an independent public defender’s office.
AnalysisThe D20 race isn’t heavily contested. The district is solidly Democratic and has never sent a Republican to Congress.
D21
Chip Roy (R)Roy is seeking a third term representing the 21st Congressional district. The former Ted Cruz staffer from Austin is known for his conservative firebrand. He serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Veterans Affairs.
Claudia Zapata (D)Zapata, a progressive activist from Austin, previously served as an analyst for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and as a legislative aid in the Texas House.
AnalysisThe redrawn 21st district, which covers a wide swatch of the Hill Country from Austin to San Antonio, has the seat leaning more heavily Republican than it had in previous elections.
D23
Tony Gonzales (R)The incumbent served as a chief petty officer in the Navy. His priorities are border security and economic issues facing the district.
John Lira (D)The challenger, an ordained minister, served as a military analyst in the Marine Corps and a Border Patrol agent. His priorities include reducing inflation, and immigration reform.
Frank Lopez Jr. (I)His priorities are solidly conservative, including completing the border wall, fighting off so-called socialist takeover attempts and keeping “Critical Race Theory” out of schools.
AnalysisDistrict 23 is massive and stretches from just outside San Antonio to just east of El Paso. The district has changed hands between Republicans and Democrats over the last decade, with Republicans holding a slight edge in recent years.
D28
Cassy Garcia (R)The challenger previously worked as the deputy state director for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and was the regional field representative for the Texas commissioner of agriculture. If elected, she hopes to reduce inflation, lower healthcare premiums, and hire more Border Patrol agents. She believes that Cuellar has not done enough to secure the southern border.
Henry Cuellar (D)The centrist incumbent has served in Congress since 2005. He was the only House Democrat to vote against a bill in 2021 that would have codified the right to abortion in federal law. Cuellar has run on his record in Congress and argued that he has helped fund education, healthcare, small businesses, veterans, and immigration services programs in this district.
AnalysisA Democrat has represented the 28th Congressional District since its creation in 1993. The outcome of this race would affect the partisan balance of the U.S. House in the 118th Congress. As of October, Democrats held a 220-212 majority in the U.S. House with three vacancies. Republicans need to gain a net of five districts to win a majority in the chamber.
D34
Mayra Flores (R)She has held District 34 for a few months, after winning a special election with 50.9% of the vote.
Vicente Gonzalez (D)He is coming into this race as a newcomer after being drawn out of District 15, where he’s held office for 5 years.
AnalysisTexas’ 34th Congressional District has seen a lot of change in the last year. Redistricting has concentrated the voting block to deep South Texas, removing the outside metros of San Antonio and Victoria. The race is considered a toss up by political analysts, with voters in the Rio Grande Valley having to decide between the far-right politics of Flores or the moderate Democrat leadership of Gonzalez.
D35
Dan McQueen (R)McQueen served briefly as mayor of Corpus Christi. The Navy veteran and engineer also recently campaigned briefly for a U.S. Senate seat in Missouri.
Greg Casar (D)Casar is a former Austin City Councilman, who gave up his seat that he held since 2014 to run for Congress. He’s known for his progressive policies and has the endorsement of several progressive heavyweights, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
AnalysisThe open seat — spanning from Austin to San Antonio along I-35 — was vacated by Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett, who decided to run for Texas’ 37th Congressional district in Travis County due to redistricting. It is a heavily Democratic district.
BEXAR COUNTY JUDGE
Trish DeBerry (R)She is public relations professional turned county commissioner after running for the Pct. 3 commissioner’s seat in 2020. Her term lasted less than one year after she vacated the seat to run for county judge following Nelson Wolff’s retirement announcement. DeBerry took a fiscal conservative stance on the county budget, property taxes and spending by the sheriff’s office.
Peter Sakai (D)He is best known for his work as a prominent state district judge within the children’s court in Bexar County for more than 25 years. Sakai has also led the charge on the county’s Family Drug Court and Early Childhood Courts Over the last three years, he’s served on San Antonio and Bexar County’s Collaborative Commission on Domestic Violence. Sakai was forced into a runoff after the March primary election and won 60% of the vote.
AnalysisFor the first time in two decades, the Bexar County judge seat is vacant. Incumbent Nelson Wolff announced his retirement from politics by electing not to seek another term after being appointed to the position in 2001. That opened the floodgates to Republican and Democratic candidates. The Bexar County judge, despite the judicial name, is executive in nature and serves as the top elected official and most prominent public figure for county government.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
Marc LaHood (R) The challenger is a criminal defense attorney in Bexar County and Nico LaHood’s brother. LaHood is endorsed by the San Antonio Police Officers Association, the Deputy Sheriff’s Association of Bexar County, the statewide police union CLEAT and the Bexar County Probation Officers Union. If elected, LaHood pledged to enforce Texas’ abortion ban.
Joe Gonzales (D) The incumbent defeated Nico LaHood, Mark LaHood’s brother, in the 2018 Democratic primary. Gonzales runs again on a platform of police accountability, bail reform and reduced criminalization for marijuana possession. He oversaw the implementation of a cite and release program that allows police to ticket rather than arrest people for marijuana possession. His office estimates it has helped 6,200 people stay out of jail. Gonzales has pledged not to prosecute people seeking abortions in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade.
AnalysisLaHood has attacked Gonzales’ reform platform, blaming it for crime. It isn’t clear that a “crime is too high” campaign resonates in the county as much as issues like abortion access and gun control.
BEXAR COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Commissioner Precinct 3
Grant Moody (R)The former Marine combat pilot and current Valero Energy executive seeks to keep the historically Republican precinct red. Moody was also appointed twice by Gov. Greg Abbott to serve on the Texas Veterans Land Board.
Susan Korbel (D)She owns Core Research, a small business, and has a PhD. in Public Administration.
AnalysisBoth candidates support some form of property tax relief for residents in the county. And they agreed that beefing up the sheriff’s department resources to protect unincorporated areas of the county is a budget priority. The two candidates seek to replace incumbent Marialyn Bernard, who was appointed to serve out the unexpired term of Trish DeBerry, who is running for county judge.
TEXAS HOUSE
D118
John Lujan (R)Lujan was born and raised in San Antonio, where he was a sheriff’s deputy and firefighter before becoming a member of the Texas House of Representatives in 2016. In 2021, Lujan flipped the South and far East Side San Antonio seat from Democrat control after President Joe Biden performed poorly with South Texas Latinos.
Frank Ramirez (D)Ramirez is a lifelong San Antonian and former San Antonio City Council and Texas Legislature staffer. He ran for this seat in the 2021 special election against Lujan and lost by 2.5 points.
AnalysisThe D118 rematch is receiving heavy attention and funding from both parties who view the seat as an indicator of which party South Texas Latino voters will trust in the future. A formerly blue seat, it has reddened slightly since the most recent redistricting.
D121Steve Allison (R)Allison, a rare moderate Republican in Texas, has held the seat since 2019. The business attorney also served on Alamo Heights ISD School Board for 12 years.
Becca DeFelice (D)DeFelice is a nonprofit consultant and an advocate for gun reform.
AnalysisThe 121st district in North San Antonio is expected to be competitive. Alison defeated Celina Montoya by 7 percentage points in 2020.
D122Angi Aramburu (D)Aramburu is an entrepreneur and small business owner. Aramburu founded Go Fetch Run, a personal training class for people and their canine pets. She has served on San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s Fitness Council.
Mark Dorazio (R)Mark Dorazio has been a Republican Party precinct chair for decades and served as chairman of the Bexar County Republican Party from 2017-2018. He and his wife own a construction company.
Stephanie Berlin (L)Berlin is an HR professional and corporate trainer. She’s been a Libertarian for over 25 years. She has run unsuccessfully for Congress and state Board of Education.
AnalysisThe 122nd seat, held for over a decade by moderate Republican Rep. Lyle Larson, has become more competitive following redistricting.
D123Diego Bernal (D)Bernal has served in the seat since 2015. He is a former San Antonio City Councilman and civil rights lawyer.
Charlotte Valdez (R)The candidate did not respond to TPR’s request for information about the campaign or platform.
AnalysisThe 123rd seat, which includes downtown San Antonio, is considered a safe Democratic district.
D124Josey Garcia (D)Garcia is an Air Force veteran who founded a nonprofit that helps immigrants on their journey through Mexico to the U.S.
Johnny Arredondo (R)Arredondo is a retired retail professional who referees NCAA basketball games. He ran for this seat unsuccessfully in 2018 and for a city council seat the following year.
AnalysisThe 124th street is considered to be a safe seat for Democrats. It was held by State Rep. Ina Minjares, who vacated the seat in order to run in the primary for Bexar County judge.
D125Ray Lopez (D)Lopez has held the seat since 2019. The AT&T executive previously served as a San Antonio City Councilman and on the board of Northside ISD.
Carlos Antonio Raymond (R)Raymond is an Army veteran and a realtor. He unsuccessfully ran for another Texas House District seat — 117 — in 2020.
AnalysisConsidered to be a Democratic-leaning district that gives advantage to the incumbent.
TEXAS SENATE
SD19Roland Gutierrez (D)He seeks his second term in the Texas Senate. He received national attention in the months following the Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde, which is in his district, as an outspoken critic of Gov. Greg Abbott and his policies related to gun safety. Gutierrez also served in the Texas House, starting in 2008, after serving on the San Antonio City Council.
Robert Garza (R)Garza grew up in Kinney County and practiced law in Del Rio for decades after graduating from St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio. He served as mayor of Del Rio from 2014 to 2018. Garza says he supports strict enforcement of immigration laws and domestic drilling of fossil fuels.
AnalysisDistrict 19 is one of the largest legislative districts in the United States, containing all or part of 17 counties and covering more than 35,000 square miles. About 400 miles of the Texas-Mexico border is included in the district, including Big Bend National Park, Del Rio and Eagle Pass. The Senate district is 66% Latino.
SD21Judith Zaffirini (D)Zaffirini is one of the longest serving members of the Texas Senate, first taking office in 1987. She is Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Economic Development.
Julie Dahlbeg (R)Dahlberg, a communications professional, managed the campaign of the previous GOP candidate for this seat — Frank Pomeroy and another unsuccessful campaign for House District 31. She has served as a Republican precinct chair and as a delegate to the Texas GOP’s convention.
Arthur DiBianca (L)DiBianca is a retired resident of Austin who ran unsuccessfully for Congress against Republican Chip Roy in 2020, and twice before for House District 51.
AnalysisZaffirini has held onto the Democratic seat since 1987. The expansive district runs from Laredo along the border up to the Austin area. It is considered to be a firmly Democratic district.
SD24Kathy Jones-Hospod (D)Jones-Hospod is a long-time engineer. Her platform includes rebuilding infrastructure — including the state’s power grid — and protecting civil rights.
Pete Flores (R)Flores previously held another state Senate seat from 2018 to last year, before being unseated by Roland Gutierrez. The Plesanton resident’s home now falls under District 24. The retired Texas game warden had the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
AnalysisThe 24th State Senate District became an open seat when Republican state Sen. Dawn Buckingham launched her campaign for Land Commissioner. The district is considered to be a safe district for Republicans.
SD26Jose Menendez (D)Menendez has served in the seat since 2015. Previously, he served in the Texas House for 14 years and as a San Antonio City Councilman from 1994-1997.
Ashton Murray (R)Murray is a businessman who served in the Army National Guard.
AnalysisSan Antonio’s 26th state Senate district is considered to be a safe race for Democrats.
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STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
D1Michael “Travis” Stevens (R)The graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio lives in Helotes. He teachers in the Northside Independent School District. He supports charter schools and believes schools should be “places of education, not indoctrination.”
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Melissa Ortega (D)She was born and raised in El Paso. She graduated from the University of El Paso and is an instructor in UTEP’s Women’s and Gender Studies Department. She previously worked as a coordinator for the Master Teacher program at a local school district and has been endorsed by the outgoing District 1 board member, Georgina Perez.
D3Ken Morrow (R)Morrow is an insurance agent who was born in San Antonio and attended the University of Texas at Austin. He moved from Austin to Gonzales, 90 minutes east of San Antonio, in 2002. He is “interested in reviewing public tax money being shared with elective private education.”
Marisa Perez-Diaz (D)Perez-Diaz has represented District 3 on the State Board of Education since 2012, where she championed the addition of Mexican American Studies courses. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas at San Antonio. She has worked for several San Antonio school districts. She currently works as the executive director for the Firstmark Credit Union Foundation.
Analysis for both racesThis will be the first election since redistricting reorganized the State Board of Education districts. View the district maps here. Previously, parts of north and west Bexar County were in District 5, which included much of the Hill Country and part of Travis County. Now, a sliver of west Bexar County is in District 1, which stretches west all the way to the border and also includes El Paso. The rest of Bexar County remains in District 3, which stretches south to the Rio Grande Valley.
SCHOOL BOARDS
Three Bexar County school districts have trustee elections on the ballot this November.
East Central ISDAll four of East Central’s trustee seats up for election were held by incumbents who ran unopposed and have been declared elected.
Somerset ISDTrustee Place No. 1 Incumbent Sandra Rosales is being challenged by Michael Lujan. Trustee Place No. 3 Incumbent Elizabeth Hansen is being challenged by Omar Pachecano. Trustee Place No. 7 Incumbent and Board President Don Green is being challenged by Johnny Salazar.
South San Antonio ISDThis is South San’s first board election since longtime trustee Connie Prado retired in June. It could determine whether South San continues its history of upheaval or moves towards stability.
In Trustee District 1, Greg Flores is running against Manuel Lopez. In Trustee District 4, incumbent Shirley Ibarra is running unopposed and is duly elected. In Trustee District 5, Gina Rovello is running against Abel “Chillidogg” Martinez Jr. And in Trustee District 6, Cyndi Ramirez is running against Gilbert Rodriguez.
Gina Rovello and Cyndi Ramirez were appointed to the board in July to replace Connie Prado and Gilbert Rodriguez. Rodriguez reportedly resigned in February, but his resignation was never voted on or discussed until the vote to replace him in July.
Four of the district’s current board members voted to petition for the removal of Shirley Ibarra from the board in September for “incompetence and misconduct.” Ibarra told The Mesquite she believed the vote was due to her frequent absences from meetings due to her battles with mental health. She said she would not withdraw from reelection.
SCHOOL BONDS
Last year, school districts across Texas saw a huge uptick in the number of failed bond elections. East Central and Judson ISD were among those districts. They are back again to ask voters to approve security measures and new schools to help them prepare for growing enrollment.
East Central ISD Prop AA request to issue $240 million in bonds to pay for security measures, two new elementary schools, a middle school, a career and technical center, and the conversion of the transportation building into a warehouse and police headquarters. The district expects the bonds to require a .06% tax rate increase beginning in 2024.
Language from the ballot:”THE ISSUANCE OF $240,000,000 OF BONDS BY THE EAST CENTRAL INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR SCHOOL FACILITIES (WITH PRIORITY GIVEN TO TWO NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, ONE NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL, A NEW MULTIPURPOSE CAREER AND TECHNICAL CENTER, A NEW TRANSPORTATION FACILITY, RENOVATIONS TO HIGHLAND FOREST AND OAK CREST ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS,HERITAGE AND LEGACY MIDDLE SCHOOLS, AND CONVERSION OF THE TRANSPORTATION FACILITY INTO A WAREHOUSE AND POLICE HEADQUARTERS, AND SECURITY ENHANCEMENTS DISTRICT WIDE) AND THE LEVYING OF A TAX IN PAYMENT THEREOF. THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE.”
ForAgainst
Judson ISD Prop AA request to issue $172 million in bonds to pay for security measures districtwide, including the technology upgrades required to operate them.
Language from the ballot:”THE ISSUANCE OF $172,034,900 OF BONDS BY THE JUDSON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR THE PURPOSES OF DESIGNING, CONSTRUCTING, RENOVATING, IMPROVING, UPGRADING, UPDATING, ACQUIRING, AND EQUIPPING SCHOOL FACILITIES WITH PRIORITY GIVEN TO SAFETY AND SECURITY AT ALL DISTRICT CAMPUSES AND THE LEVYING OF A TAX IN PAYMENT THEREOF. THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE.”
ForAgainst
Judson ISD Prop BA request to issue $173 million in bonds to pay for a new elementary school and a new middle school, and to purchase new school buses. Judson’s total bond package is $345 million. The district expects the bonds to require a .01% tax rate increase.
Language from the ballot:”THE ISSUANCE OF $173,265,000 OF BONDS BY THE JUDSON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTFOR THE PURPOSES OF DESIGNING, CONSTRUCTING, RENOVATING, IMPROVING, UPGRADING, UPDATING, ACQUIRING, AND EQUIPPING SCHOOL FACILITIES, THE PURCHASE OF ANY NECESSARY SITES FOR SCHOOL FACILTIES, AND THE PURCHASE OF NEW SCHOOL BUSES, WITH PRIORITY GIVEN TO A NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL AND NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, AND THE LEVYING OF A TAX IN PAYMENT THEREOF. THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE.”
ForAgainst
To see the complete sample ballot, check possible updates to your precinct maps and for more election-related announcements, visit the Bexar County Election Department website.