At ICE facility and across El Paso, Talarico makes his case to voters
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James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat representing Texas, holds a press conference outside an ICE detention center during a visit as part of his “Take Back Texas” tour, in El Paso, Texas, U.S., February 21, 2026. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez
Commissioner David Stout won his seat on the County Commissioners court in a primary nearly 12 years ago. He has faced a challenger in each re-election campaign since, but today he faces off against a candidate who has criticized a pay raise he voted for.
Stout, 45, is facing off against Miguel Antonio Teran, 61, who has served as a director for the El Paso County Water Improvement District One and is the son of a former county commissioner.
El Pasoans will be selecting who will run in the Democratic primaries for County Commissioner in Precinct 2 this coming Tuesday, March 3.
Whoever wins the primary will face off against Republican candidate Matt Sistrunck in the November General Election.
Precinct 2 is made up of Central El Paso and the Lower Valley. They are responsible for road construction and maintenance of parks and infrastructure within their precincts.
The commissioner represents their precinct on the County Commissioners Court. They are one of four commissioners, who, along with the county judge, serve as the board that governs the county government. They are responsible for adopting a county budget and tax rate, approving county contracts and call for bond elections to fund construction and road projects.
They serve a four-year term and are paid $133,466 a year.
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The Enrique Moreno County Courthouse at 500 E. San Antonio Ave. in downtown El Paso, Texas.
David Stout looks for re-election in Precinct 2
Commissioner David Stout is seeking his fourth re-election representing Precinct 2 on the County Commissioners Court. He is the longest-running member of the Commissioners Court, representing Precinct 2 since 2014.
He is campaigning for re-election on his long list of accomplishments while in office.
“It’s really been the honor of a lifetime to serve the people of Precinct 2,” Stout said. “Over the last 11 years that I’ve been in office, we’ve really made a lot of progress. We’ve made our county stronger. We’ve made our public safety smarter. Our investments are reaching people who need them the most.”
He points to his successes in keeping the El Paso Children’s Hospital open, expanding healthy food programs, and promoting public art across his precinct as his key achievements. He also worked to make a $50 million investment in Ascarate Park, which renovated the swimming pool, pavilion, and playgrounds, and backed increased access to broadband internet across the county.
El Paso County Commissioner David Stout urges TCEQ officials to hold a contested-case hearing for Marathon Petroleum’s pending air-permit renewal during a public meeting Jan. 8 at Riverside High School.
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The commissioners court has worked to further lower the tax rate, Stout said.
Stout says he has worked to absorb tax increases, but he points out that the current rate is roughly the same as when he took office. Many of the burdens on the budget, though, he points out, come from legislation passed in Austin, Texas.
“Seventy percent of our budget is an unfunded mandate that comes from the state and the funded mandates that the state has handed down to us in El Paso County over the last five years have cost us close to $70 million,” he said. “It’s really difficult for the County Commissioners Court to balance our budget when every legislative session the state decides that they want us to pay for certain programs and services and they don’t reimburse us for those programs and services.”
Stout has sought to work as the policy chair of the Texas Conference of Urban Counties in Austin to advocate against changes that could further burden the county, he said. He has traveled to Austin during the legislative sessions for this advocacy.
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He is looking to bring more county tax spending into the city of El Paso. He has been working with the city to establish a pilot project to help improve the infrastructure within the city, including filling potholes, building speed humps and assist putting up street lights. He is also seeking investment to further improve the Ascarate Park and El Paso County Coliseum projects.
Stout is looking to support small businesses within his precinct as the backbone of economic development.
“We really need to make sure that we provide support to our local small and micro businesses, entrepreneurs,” he explained. “We need to understand that they are the backbone of our economy.”
Miguel Teran for Precinct 2
Miguel Antonio Teran is not a newcomer to politics. He has served as the El Paso County Water Improvement District One representative since 2005, but is ending his term in 2026.
Teran believes that his experience as the project manager of his own firm and his experience on the water commission prepares him for the position.
“I’m going to be a full-time commissioner to make sure that all our money is spent wisely,” Teran said. “That’s what I plan to do.”
Miguel Antonio Teran, the Democratic primary challenger in Precinct 2 stands outside of his campaign headquarters on Feb. 24, 2026
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Among the key projects he sees as an important development for the county is the pending Interstate 10 expansion. He said that he would make sure that the project doesn’t go over budget or go for longer, as it would affect neighbors.
“The Interstate 10 expansion is coming whether we want it or not,” he explained. “It is about having a seat at the table. Since I am the most qualified when it comes to construction and project management, I can talk to Texas Department of Transportation, their language, and have a seat at the table, and make sure we get our fair share and make sure it doesn’t go beyond the duration it was supposed to be and beyond the money.”
He plans on holding the tax rate down and not rely on property evaluations as the means of maintaining a budget, he said. He also explained that he would make sure that senior citizens in El Paso County are taken care of.
The expansion project is immediate and he supports it, he said. He said that the proposed Deck Plaza is something that can be discussed later, but it is not something he would support if the voters do not desire it.
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He criticized the county commissioners for raising their salaries at a time when pay raises were frozen. He also took aim at his challenger, Stout, for traveling out of the El Paso area.
“I have no business anywhere else except here,” he said. “If I’m going to Austin, I’m going to bring industry to El Paso.”
Teran said that the long-term project that he would pursue is to “beautify” Ascarate Park, making sure that it remains a “viable” park and “something that everybody can be proud of.” He looks to bring big business into El Paso to assist with this development, as part of the economic development promoting investment in the county.
He said that he wants downtown El Paso to not be stagnant. He looks to bring it to the forefront of the national conversation.
“I need to be a part of that, to carve out the direction that we grow, because it’d be a shame for our city to be pillaged, not properly planned, and going into agreements that we have no business in,” Teran explained. “We want the right businesses in El Paso. We are at that stage in the growth of El Paso to become a major player in the United States. It needs to be properly carved out, properly managed.”
There is always a primary challenger
Primary challengers are common in down-ballot races, like the one for county commissioner, Michael Apodaca, the El Paso County Democratic chair, said.
Commissioner Stout in fact first gained his seat on the court as a primary challenger to Sergio Lewis in 2014. He has since faced a primary challenger in each election since.
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Down-ballot races, like county commissioner or school board races, may be overshadowed by high-profile state-wide races and presidential races, but they are important, Apodaca said.
“Those are the ones that we always know about because we hear about them every day,” he said. “But it is really important paying attention to these local races and focusing on what these local governments are doing because there’s more of an impact.”
Jeff Abbott covers the border for the El Paso Times and can be reached at:jdabbott@usatodayco.com; @palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso County Commissioner primary: Stout vs. Teran