Election 2024: Here's what to know as candidates begin announcing their bids for office
While the 2024 Texas primary is months away, El Paso candidates are beginning to announce they will seek office for judicial and law enforcement elected seats.
The 2024 primary elections will see several competitive races in law enforcement and judicial circles, including for El Paso County district attorney, El Paso County sheriff, El Paso County attorney and the 65th District Court judicial seat.
The primary election will be March 5, 2024, with early voting running from Feb. 20 to March 1.
Candidates can officially file for election Nov. 11. The filing deadline for candidates is Dec. 11.
El Paso County Republican Party officials said they did not have a list of candidates who have declared they will run for office but added that candidates' names will be released when they officially file for office.
The El Paso County Democracy Party allows candidates to file a declaration announcing their filing on their website.
These are the candidates who have declared for the election as of May 30.
This story will be updated as more candidates announce their campaigns.
El Paso County District Attorney's Office
The race for district attorney for the 34th Judicial District, which oversees El Paso, Hudspeth and Culberson counties, will be a competitive race as multiple candidates are expected to announce their bid for the top law enforcement position.
So far, only one candidate ‒ Nancy Casas ‒ has announced her intention to seek the seat. Casas, a Democrat, is currently an assistant county attorney with the criminal unit of the El Paso County Attorney's Office. Previously, she worked as an assistant district attorney for more than 17 years.
The annual salary for the district attorney is $198,104, El Paso County officials said. The district attorney receives $140,000 from the state of Texas, while $58,104 is paid for by the county.
El Paso County attorney
Christina Sanchez, a Democrat, is currently the only candidate who has announced she will seek the position of El Paso County attorney.
Current El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal announced in January she will not seek reelection.
Sanchez is currently an assistant county attorney at the El Paso County Attorney's Office.
The annual salary for county attorney for the 2023 fiscal year is $216,216, El Paso County records state.
The term length is four years.
El Paso County Sheriff's Office
Two candidates have declared their intentions to run for El Paso County Sheriff.
The candidates are Ryan Urrutia and Robert "Bobby" Flores.
Urrutia, who has been with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office since 1996, in March announced his bid to replace outgoing El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles.
Urrutia, who is running as a Democrat, is currently a commander of the patrol division for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
Robert "Bobby" Flores, also a Democrat, declared his candidacy May 25, with an official announcement fundraiser scheduled for May 31.
Flores has been with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office since 1989 and currently serves as an assistant chief for the sheriff's office.
Wiles, a Democrat who has served as the head of the El Paso County Sheriff's Office since 2009, announced in March he was retiring when his term ends at the end of 2024.
The annual salary for El Paso County sheriff for the 2023 fiscal year is $190,226, El Paso County records state. The term length for El Paso County sheriff is four years.
65th District Court
Prominent El Paso lawyer Omar Carmona, a Democrat, is seeking the 65th District Court judicial seat. The 65th District Court is a family court.
Incumbent Judge Yahara Lisa Gutierrez has not announced if she is seeking reelection.
Carmona is currently a private practice lawyer. He is known as the El Pasoan who filed a petition to have former district attorney Rosales removed from office based on allegations of "official misconduct and continued incompetence."
Rosales resigned from office in November before the removal from office petition went to trial.
The 65th District Court is a family court presiding over divorces, modifications of child support, protective orders, adoptions, Child Protective Service cases and juvenile prosecutions.
383rd District Court
Incumbent 383rd District Court Judge Lyda Ness Garcia, a Democrat, is seeking reelection to the family court judicial seat.
Garcia was first elected to seat in 2020 when she defeated Republican candidate Phyllis Martinez Gonzalez in the general election with more than 65% of the votes.
Judicial, law enforcement seats
The 2024 primary will include key races for several judicial and law enforcement seats. No candidates have declared their intentions to seek these seats as of May 17.
District court:
Along with the 65th and 383rd district court races, there are seven other district court seats on the ballot.
The starting salary for Texas state district court judges starts at $140,000, a report by the Texas Judicial Branch's Judicial Compensation Commission states. The term length for district court judges is four years.
34th District Court, Democratic incumbent Judge William E. Moody
41st District Court, Democratic incumbent Judge Annabell Perez
346th District Court, Democratic incumbent Judge Patricia C. Baca
384th District Court, Democratic incumbent Judge Patrick M. Garcia
388th District Court, Democratic incumbent Judge Marlene Gonzalez
409th District Court, Democratic incumbent Judge Sam Medrano
448th District Court, Democratic incumbent Judge Sergio Enriquez
County courts:
El Paso Criminal District Court No. 1, Democratic incumbent Judge Ruth Reyes
El Paso County Criminal Court No. 3, Democratic incumbent Judge Carlos Carrasco
El Paso County Criminal Court No. 4, Democratic incumbent Judge Jessica Vazquez
The starting salary for county criminal courts judge is $157,000.00, county records state. These judges serve four-year terms.
Constables:
All seven constable seats are up for election. The annual salary for constables in El Paso County is $102,275, county records show. Constables serve four-year terms.
So far, two candidates have declared for constable seats. The candidates — incumbent Danny T. Zamora and challenger Jeremiah Haggerty — are seeking the Constable Precinct 2 position.
The current constables representing El Paso County are:
Constable Precinct 1, Oscar Ugarte, Democrat
Constable Precinct 2, Danny T. Zamora, Democrat
Constable Precinct 3, Hector J. Bernal, Democrat
Constable Precinct 4, Luis Aguilar, Democrat
Constable Precinct 5, Manny Lopez, Democrat
Constable Precinct 6, Javier Garcia, Democrat
Constable Precinct 7, Angie Sommers, Democrat
Missing a candidate?
If any judicial or law enforcement candidates are missing from this list, please email borderland@elpasotimes.com and amartinez1@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Election 2024: Here's what to know as El Paso County candidates emerge
