Analysis: Frontrunners emerge in Bexar County DA primary

Eight candidates were on stage at the Democratic Bexar County District Attorney debate on Tuesday. Credit: Michael Karlis

With the start of early voting little more than a week away, the Democratic primary race to become Bexar County’s next District Attorney remains among the most, ahem, unconventional local elections this cycle.

Among the eight Dems running to replace retiring Bexar County DA Joe Gonzales, two kind of, sort of, appear likely to make it to a runoff, according to political insiders. Those are criminal defense attorney Shannon Locke, best known to many as an internet personality, and Luz Elena Chapa, a former judge with no prosecutorial experience whose debate performances have many observers scratching their heads.

The Democratic primary is the one to watch at this point, because its victor is likely to take the spoils in deep blue Bexar County’s general election.

“It’s an important position, but Lord help us,” UT-San Antonio political science professor Jon Taylor told the Current of the county’s open DA’s seat.

Indeed, Chapa’s last debate performance, Tuesday, Feb. 3, was exceptionally rough. Two local political operatives separately expressed concern about the viability of Chapa’s candidacy after her halting delivery. Both operatives asked not to be named since they’re not directly involved in the race.

Even so, Chapa leads the pack in fundraising. But it’s also worth noting that $200,000 of her war chest comes from a personal loan and the Chapa Law Group.

“I think it may just be simply a case of waiting to see who makes the runoff based on name identification alone,” Taylor said of the lack of money funneling into the race. “All due respect to these candidates, but there’s not high name recognition here — and that’s a problem.”

During the debate hosted by the Greater San Antonio Chamber, Chapa, halfway through an answer, seemed to forget the question and asked the moderator, San Antonio Report journalist Andrea Drusch, to repeat it.

In another instance, Chapa tried to frame the other candidates on stage, the majority of whom are currently working either inside the DA’s office or county courthouse, as incompetent. Not exactly an easy sale to voters given their professional experience.

Chapa’s lackluster performance came weeks after another discouraging showing during a debate at Our Lady of the Lake. During that forum, her awkwardly long pauses led attorney Jason Wolff, who is running in the DA’s race as an independent, to question in a recent TikTok whether she was “having a stroke.”

“I don’t understand why she decided to run for DA rather than staying on the Court of Appeals,” Taylor said. “I’m surprised she didn’t run for judge or justice again.”

Chapa served on the Texas Fourth Court of Appeals for decades, running unopposed until Republican challenger Lori Massey Brisette took her seat in 2024.

In the end, Chapa’s debate performances up to this point aren’t likely to affect her chances of making the runoff, Taylor said.

“It will have an impact on people who have a nuanced understanding of the race,” he said. “But, I gotta be honest, the average voter is not going to have a tremendous amount of information on these candidates.”

Democratic political consultant Bert Santibañez said Locke has emerged as the favorite, particularly among the party’s progressive wing, due to his recent calls to prosecute ICE officers who break the law.

Chapa’s chances of making the runoff are less certain, the consultant added.

Still, Santibañez gets the sense Locke’s challenger will be a woman — whether Chapa, Meredith Chacon or Meli Powers — if he makes the runoff.

“When it comes to Democratic primaries, women do outvote men two to one,” Santibañez said. “So with that, you typically see women dominate county-wide primaries, especially in the Democratic nomination.”

Analysis: Frontrunners emerge in Bexar County DA primary — sort of

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