EL PASO, Tx., January 21, 2026: On Monday we published our first report in our campaign funding series for the candidates running for offices in the March primaries. We reported that Minerva Torres Shelton had not filed her report on the due date. We reached out to the Torres-Shelton campaign about the report on Monday and we have not heard back from her.
The incumbent, Ricardo Samaniego, is running unopposed in the Democratic primary. Two candidates are running to challenge Samaniego in November on the Republican ticket. They are Guadalupe Giner and Torres-Shelton.
Torres-Shelton ran in 2024 for sheriff and lost to Oscar Ugarte. Giner was defeated by Samaniego in 2022.
Samaniego reported $28,619.04 in campaign contributions and spending $42,806.05. Questions about Samaniego’s campaign expenditures have been raised because he does not face an opponent in the March primary.
Giner reported raising $2,637 and spending $8,251.
Torres-Shelton Files Late Campaign Finance Report
Yesterday, Torres-Shelton filed her campaign finance report with the elections department. She has not offered an explanation as to why her report was filed five days late.
According to the report, she raised $6,656.91 and spent $5,077.52. Her two largest campaign contributors are Sam Armijo and Cinda Cotham. Armijo contributed $1,000 and Cotham contributed $3,052.05. We noted that her campaign finance report does not list how much money she has left in campaign funds and she did not list the date when she loaned her campaign $10,000. Based on her incomplete report, it appears that Torres-Shelton has an estimated $11,579.39 in campaign funds left.
As of the latest reports, Samaniego has raised and spent the most even though he does not face an opponent until November. On the Republican ticket, Torres-Shelton raised the most. Giner, on the other hand, has spent the most on her campaign between the two Republicans. Samaniego has $65,416.39 in his campaign account. Giner has $5,350 available to her, and Torres-Shelton has an estimated $11,579.36 available to her.
Early voting begins on February 17. Election Day is March 3.
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