Eight Democratic candidates are gunning to win the nomination on Tuesday. If none reach the 50% vote threshold, there will be a May 26 runoff.
SAN ANTONIO — One of the most packed county races in the 2026 primaries will get a little clearer on Tuesday night.
Eight Democratic candidates are running for Bexar County criminal district attorney, a contest that features current employees at the office, former county prosecutors and others who are outsiders altogether. They’re running to succeed Joe Gonzales, who has been in office since 2019 and said last summer that he wouldn’t seek a third term. His office has often come under scrutiny from Republican state leaders for not doing enough to keep violent offenders behind bars.
It’s unlikely that any candidate will reach the 50% threshold needed to win the Democratic nomination outright, although Jane Davis, who currently heads up the juvenile division, has amassed a far greater war chest and had nearly $170,000 available to spend as of late February. None of her opponents on the Democratic ballot had more than $51,000.
Should no candidate win outright, the top two vote-getters would advance to a May 26 runoff.
The winner will face Ashley Foster, who spent 11 years in the DA’s office and has said she hopes to address community fears about crime-reporting while rebuilding trust in the office; she’s running unopposed on the Republican ballot.
Asked about the biggest issues facing the DA’s office at a February debate, most candidates cited communication with law enforcement, a need for better transparency and low staff morale. The office is also continuing to tackle a case backlog that in mid-February had dropped to fewer than 2,000 cases.
The district attorney serves for four years.
For more coverage and results of the 2026 Texas Primaries, visit kens5.com/elections.