BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – Watch KSAT’s live election results stream with Myra Arthur and Ernie Zuniga here. Election results will begin populating at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3. Find more election coverage on the Vote 2026 page.
BACKGROUND
The race for the Democratic nomination to lead county government has come down to Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai and former San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg.
In left-leaning Bexar County, the race for county judge is primarily focused on the Democratic primary, a two-way contest between contemporaries turned rivals.
The winner will face Patrick Von Dohlen, the lone Republican candidate, in the November election.
Sakai and Nirenberg served concurrently for more than two years as the heads of the Bexar County and San Antonio city governments, respectively.
Nirenberg was forced out of the mayor’s office by term limits in June 2025 and said his time in that role equipped him with the skills to lead the county.
“We have been far too reactive,” Nirenberg said. “The issues that we’re debating today are the same ones that we were debating three years ago, and they’re getting worse.”
When presented with Nirenberg’s statement, Sakai said, “Those problems were reflective of the 30 years of the predecessor commissioners’ court. I’ve tried to bring change.”
One of the biggest problems facing the county is its overcrowded jail, which led the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office to begin housing inmates in other counties.
Sakai dismissed the possibility of a new jail as a “budget buster,” while Nirenberg said in a January debate that “every option needs to be on the table.”
However, both men have supported the idea of a diversion center.
“I don’t want a jail,” Nirenberg told KSAT. “I want a better criminal justice system.”
Sakai suggested a regional facility, which he said would require partnering with the state and rural counties.
“Let us find a regional facility that will take care of people who are mentally ill, people that are mentally incompetent, people that don’t belong in because they’re non-violent, but yet they can’t get out of our jail,” Sakai said.
Both are portraying themselves as the best candidate to work with others to tackle the county’s issues.
“I will bring solutions. I will bring experts. I’ll listen to them as I was as a judge,” Sakai said. “That’s my strong suit.”
“The buck stops with the county judge,” Nirenberg said. “That’s the purpose of that position is to be accountable to the solutions that we need as a community.”
If there are three or more candidates in a race and none of them win more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to the May 26 primary runoff.
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