Race tightens in the Democratic runoff for Bexar County district attorney between longtime prosecutor Jane Davis and former Fourth Court of Appeals Justice Luz Elena Chapa with Chapa ahead by only 200 votes.
Davis took the early lead by fewer than 1,000 votes in early voting, but Chapa now holds 50.25% of the vote in the race to lead one of Texas’ largest district attorney’s offices and replace outgoing District Attorney Joe Gonzales, who is not seeking reelection after two terms.
This could become one of the closest countywide Democratic runoff races in recent years.
The winner of the Democratic runoff will face Republican Ashley Foster in November, though in heavily Democratic Bexar County, the winner of the Democratic runoff will be the odds-on favorite to carry the county in November.
The closely watched runoff has become a referendum on the future of criminal justice reform in San Antonio following Gonzales’ retirement, while also testing whether Democratic voters want continuity inside the DA’s office or a political outsider promising major management changes.
Davis, the longtime chief of the juvenile division in the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office, campaigned on the idea that the office does not need an outsider or political newcomer, but someone who already understands how to run it.
“I didn’t want the office to go to pot, and I don’t want the county to not be served as well by the DA as it can be,” Davis told the San Antonio Report earlier this month. “I saw who was running, and I think it’s important that somebody step up and do the best for the county that can be done.”
During the campaign, Davis positioned herself as the experienced candidate in the race, arguing her decades inside the office gave her a better understanding of how to manage staffing shortages, case backlogs and morale issues prosecutors have raised in recent years.
Davis has spent decades inside the Bexar County DA’s office, working under seven district attorneys across Republican and Democratic administrations and overseeing divisions ranging from felony prosecutions to juvenile cases.
Though she has supported some reforms implemented under Gonzales — including cite-and-release policies intended to reduce jail overcrowding — Davis also argued the office needs stronger management, additional training and clearer expectations for prosecutors.
“Joe brought in a lot of good people as his chiefs, and I think he had some very good ideas as far as what he wanted to do progressively,” Davis said earlier this month. “He has implemented some of those ideas, some of them have worked very well and some of them need some refinement.”
Read more It’s election day in Texas. Here’s how to vote in the Republican and Democratic primary runoffs.
Davis has also framed herself as a data-driven prosecutor who supports diversion and rehabilitation programs for some lower-level offenders while still emphasizing aggressive prosecution for violent crimes.
Chapa, a former appellate court justice with no prosecutorial experience, entered the runoff after finishing first in the March primary with 24% of the vote.
Her campaign centered on fixing what she described as dysfunction inside the DA’s office, arguing the department needs stronger leadership and a fresh perspective more than courtroom experience.
“I’ve never maintained that I was a former prosecutor,” Chapa told the Report earlier this month. “I’ve owned the fact that I’ve been an outsider.”
Chapa secured endorsements from the San Antonio Police Officers Association and several prominent Democratic leaders, while significantly outraising Davis during the runoff period.
The runoff arrives at a politically sensitive moment for Democratic prosecutors in Texas.
Eight years ago, national progressive groups spent heavily helping elect Gonzales as part of a broader movement backing reform-minded district attorneys across the country.
Since then, Republican state leaders have increasingly targeted Democratic prosecutors over bail reform, diversion programs and nontraditional prosecution policies, while some progressive political organizations that once invested heavily in local DA races have largely stepped away.
The next district attorney will inherit an office dealing with staffing shortages, case backlogs and mounting political scrutiny from state leaders over criminal justice policy.
Read more What do soaring gas prices mean for Texas? Experts say it could take awhile for costs to come down.
Additional election day voting totals are expected later Tuesday night.
