This article has been updated.
First-term Bexar County Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores (Pct. 1) will face challenger Amanda Gonzalez in a May 28 runoff after the Democratic incumbent took about 46% of the vote in a six-way race Tuesday night.
Gonzalez, the executive director of a nonprofit aligned with the San Antonio Police Department and former appointee to the Edgewood ISD board of managers, received roughly 20% with most of the vote counted. Anna Uriegas Bustamante, a Southside High School teacher who serves on the board of the Alamo Colleges District, was at 15.6%.
Three other candidates for the Precinct 1 seat earned less than 10% of the vote. The winner would face Republican Lina Prado in November.
Clay-Flores won her seat four years ago by ousting a Democratic incumbent and viewed her reelection challenge differently.
“It’s totally different campaign,” she said Tuesday night. “I’m the incumbent, a lot of people already knew me. I had name recognition. I was well-funded and so yeah, totally different.”
Meanwhile, another first-term Bexar County commissioner, Republican Grant Moody (Pct. 3) defeated challenger Chris Schuchardt with roughly 53% of the vote.
Inside a packed side room at a County Line restaurant in the North Side, Moody said the early vote totals were not what he was expecting but “obviously, we’re pleased with the fact that we’re up five points in the early vote. … We’re encouraged by what we’re seeing so far.”
Because he was elected in a 2022 special election, he had just 15 months in office before his next reelection campaign, Moody noted. “It’s a short period of time to really be able to connect with the entire precinct.”
But in that short period of time, he pointed to conservative gains and initiatives he has assisted with, including reducing property taxes.
“We’ve been able to add 80 new law enforcement officers between deputy sheriffs and constables,” he said. “We fought and defeated Proposition A, which was a huge win.”
While Schuchardt has challenged Moody’s conservative credentials, Moody said his record speaks for itself.
“When we’re delivering those conservative results for Precinct 3,” he said, ”I think that ultimately that’s what voters want to see. They want to see those results.”
Schuchardt said he was able to make headway against an incumbent even with a political deck stacked heavily against him.
“So we’re up against the governor, a senator, a U.S. congressman, five San Antonio city council men and women, two appointed state board members, three public sector unions and over 20 political action committees,” he said. “And we’re only 1,200 votes apart. People want change.”
Schuchardt spent election night watching results at Little Woodrow’s Stone Oak location. Similar to his recent mayoral run, Schuchardt funded his campaign largely out of his own pocket, focusing energy on both his business and constituents.
The candidate said his campaign was funded “by hard work.”
Moody will face Democrat Susan Korbel in November in a rematch of 2022.
Bexar County sheriff
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, a Democrat who was elected in 2016 after serving 23 years with the San Antonio Police Department, claimed an easy victory in the primary with more than 70% of the vote.
Salazar inherited longtime issues of mandatory overtime for deputies working at the understaffed jail. In recent years he’s taken steps to alleviate the problem by increasing recruitment efforts, increasing deputy salaries to fair market levels and incentivizing deputies to serve at the jail.
His Democratic challenger was Sharon Rodriguez , a licensed Texas Peace Officer who once worked at the Bexar County Sheriff’s Department. Rodriguez previously ran in 2020 among four other challengers.
In the Republican primary, Nathan Buchanan came out far ahead of two other contenders with 54.5% of the vote.
Buchanan owns a cleaning company and worked for the Castle Hills Police Department as a patrol officer and the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office as a patrol deputy. He ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Bexar County judge in 2022.
Dennis Casillas, a U.S. Army veteran who has worked at the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office for 37 years and currently serves as deputy chief over the Patrol West Substation, received about 22.2%. Victor A. Mendoza received 23.3%.
Tax assessor-collector
Incumbent Albert Uresti coasted to victory in the Democratic primary with more than 82% of the vote, beating out business owner Hatem Merhi. There were no Republican candidates, so Uresti, who has held his position since 2012, will extend his tenure.
Precinct 1 constable
Incumbent Democrat Ruben Tejeda, who was first elected in 1992, defeated former Bexar County Commissioner Sergio “Chico” Rodriguez, taking more than 60% of the vote.
Rodriguez was ousted from the court by Clay-Flores in 2020. The Rodriguez and Tejeda families have been longtime rivals at different times throughout the South Side’s history. Rodriguez recently told the San Antonio Express-News that his entrance to the race has nothing to do with a family feud.
There were no Republican candidates for this office.
Precinct 3 constable
Incumbent Republican Mark Vojvodich, a U.S. Air Force veteran who was first elected as Precinct 3’s constable in 2008, was headed for victory with nearly 79% of the vote.
Jarrod Tubbs, who previously worked in the Precinct 3 Bexar County Constable office, received 21%.
There were no Democrat candidates for this seat.
Precinct 4 constable
Incumbent Kathryn “Kat” Brown, a Democrat who was elected constable in 2020, won reelection with roughly 56% of the vote.
Brown previously worked for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, where she served on the Honor Guard and Mounted Patrol.
Andrew “Andy” Lopez, who has worked for more than 30 years in the Pct. 4 Constable office, received 23%. Stan Ramos received 12% and Neal Burford received 9%.
There were no Republican candidates for this office.
Reporters Andrea Drusch and Isaac Windes contributed to this article.
