The Texas Organizing Project (TOP) is wading into Bexar County’s crowded Democratic District Attorney primary race, endorsing James Bethke, who serves as director of Bexar County’s Managed Assigned Counsel Office.
The statewide progressive group is a formidable political ally with deep pockets, helping boost District Attorney Joe Gonzales over then-incumbent Democrat Nico LaHood in 2018.
It’s also come under fire in recent years for its bail reform work, including posting bond for a man who went on to kill six people in Bexar County in 2023.
Gonzales’ connections to progressive justice reform groups dogged his time as DA and frequently made the office a target of Texas’ GOP leaders. A national group aligned with Democratic megadonor George Soros gave $1 million to his first campaign, and his office was later criticized allowing the justice reform group Wren Collective tremendous access to their work.
TOP’s endorsement is among the first high-profile signals of support in what has become a crowded contest to lead the prosecutor’s office in Texas’ fourth-largest county.
Gonzales isn’t seeking a third term this year, and the two biggest-name candidates who looked at running to replace him, state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio) and district court Judge Ron Rangel, decided not to run.
Bethke launched his campaign this week and is pitching himself as a candidate focused on public safety reforms and rebuilding trust in the justice system.
TOP’s endorsement could go a long way in a field of little-known candidates attempting to build support beyond traditional courthouse and political networks.
“I’m honored to have the support of the Texas Organizing Project,” Bethke said in a statement Tuesday. “Their commitment to empowering everyday Texans and strengthening trust between communities and government reflects the kind of justice system I believe Bexar County deserves — one that listens, serves, and treats every person with dignity.”
The crowded field of candidates seeking the Democratic nomination includes: former Fourth Court of Appeals Justice Luz Elena Chapa (D), prosecutors Oscar Salinas and Angelica “Meli” Carrión Powers, who serves as chief of the Family Violence Division in the DA’s office, criminal defense attorneys Veronica Legarreta, Shannon Locke and Meredith Chacon, who ran in Republicans’ DA primary in 2022, Jane Davis, who serves as chief of the DA office’s Juvenile Section, and James Bethke, executive director of the Managed Assigned Counsel Office.
All eight candidates will face off in a San Antonio Report debate on Feb. 3.
The first look at candidates’ fundraising for the race will come Thursday, where semi-annual campaign finance reports are due.