This year bigger-name candidates took a pass<\/a> on the race to replace retiring District Attorney Joe Gonzales<\/a>, who was helped into office in 2018<\/a> by liberal billionaire George Soros\u2019 Texas Justice and Public Safety PAC, and later criticized for allowing an Austin-based justice reform group<\/a> to have unusual access to his office\u2019s work.<\/p>\n So far no such outside money has appeared in the race to fill Gonzales\u2019 seat, where the best-known candidates are a former appellate court judge with no prosecutorial experience<\/a>, and a longtime defense attorney known for his TikTok videos<\/a>.<\/p>\n The winner of an eight-way Democratic primary will be the odds-on favorite to carry the blue county in November. They\u2019ll be up against Ashley Foster<\/a>, the lone Republican running, plus a potential independent candidate<\/a>, who must collect signatures to qualify for the general election ballot.<\/p>\n Early voting<\/a> for the March 3 primary starts on Feb. 17.<\/p>\n Watch the candidates present their qualifications and ideas for the office at the San Antonio Report\u2019s Feb. 3 debate<\/a>, or get smart quick with our roundup below. <\/p>\n Candidates are listed in the order they\u2019ll appear on the Democratic primary ballot<\/a>. <\/p>\n Jane Davis<\/p>\n Jane Davis<\/a>, 78, is the chief of the juvenile section\u00a0of the Bexar County\u00a0District Attorney\u2019s Office, and has the longest experience as a prosecutor. She\u2019s worked in all 15 sections of the DA\u2019s office, and served under seven district attorneys. <\/p>\n At a time when the office as a whole is struggling from a lack of prosecutors, Davis said people want to work in her section because \u201cit\u2019s productive, it is fun, and the one at the top needs to make it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n Davis said she hadn\u2019t planned to run for DA, but was underwhelmed by the other candidates who filed. Now she\u2019s loaned her campaign $100,000, making her one of the biggest spenders in the race<\/a>. <\/p>\n Before working at the DA\u2019s office, she was a public school teacher, a professional mediator, and she once interned at the U.S. Attorney\u2019s office.<\/p>\n \u201cI have the experience, I have the maturity and I have the temperament to lead this office,\u201d she said at the San Antonio Report\u2019s debate. \u201cI\u2019m a commissioned pastor, so I understand mercy, and I\u2019m also a rancher and a beekeeper, so I understand being tough.\u201d<\/p>\n Meli Carri\u00f3n Powers<\/p>\n Angelica \u201cMeli\u201d Carri\u00f3n Powers, 50, serves as chief of the District Attorney\u2019s Family Violence Division. She previously worked as an assistant attorney for the City of San Antonio and as a regional attorney for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.<\/p>\n Opponents like to point out that Powers currently holds one of the biggest leadership roles in an office that\u2019s been criticized for case backlogs and inadequate staffing.<\/p>\n But Powers says that her department has been a model of finding creative solutions to problems outside of their control \u2014 like using a high-risk intake program<\/a> to pay prosecutors more money \u2014 and eliminating a case backlog they inherited in 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hard work that we have done over the past seven years is important, because leadership in this office is key,\u201d she said at Tuesday\u2019s debate. \u201c\u2026 If you compare Bexar County to the 10 largest counties in Texas \u2026 We have the fourth-best dismissal rate, where many of our neighboring friends are far, far, far above us and dismissing many, many more [family violence] cases.\u201d<\/p>\n Shannon Locke<\/p>\n Shannon Locke, 52, worked at the DA\u2019s office in the early 2000s and went on to open two law firms focused on criminal defense.<\/p>\n He\u2019s billed himself as a high-energy leader with the experience needed to train young prosecutors and turn around a \u201ctoxic\u201d culture at the DA\u2019s office.<\/p>\n \u201cThe district attorney\u2019s office should be looked at as a training hospital \u2026 You\u2019re not getting paid as well as you should \u2026 but you\u2019re getting more experience,\u201d he said at the Democratic Party\u2019s forum in January. \u201cRight now, the district attorney\u2019s office has such a low conviction rate when they go to trial that they\u2019re not getting good experience. They\u2019re only learning how to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n He brings some of the most experience, having tried more than 200 jury trials. <\/p>\n But he\u2019s come under fire from opponents who say his promises to investigate ICE officers are misleading the public to gain advantage in a Democratic primary, where Locke has picked up endorsements from organized labor and other progressive groups.<\/p>\n He reiterated the idea nearly every time he had the microphone in Tuesday\u2019s debate, saying Bexar County should be doing everything it can to fight back against unlawful immigration enforcement tactics \u2014 even as the very progressive incumbent has called his ideas a \u201cconcerning\u201d misinterpretation of the role.<\/p>\n \u201cEleven district attorneys across this country have joined me in calling for local investigations into ICE agents when they commit crimes while conducting their duties \u2014 two of those district attorneys are in Texas,\u201d Locke said at Tuesday\u2019s debate. \u201cWe can do this, but we\u2019re choosing not to.\u201d<\/p>\n Veronica Legarreta<\/p>\n Veronica Legarreta<\/a>, 51, started as a prosecutor in the District Attorney\u2019s office, and is now a criminal defense attorney with her own firm, specializing in DWIs. She\u2019s also a part-time magistrate judge for the City of San Antonio. <\/p>\n Through those roles, she says she\u2019s been exposed to the many problems plaguing the DA\u2019s office that she\u2019s now running to lead. <\/p>\n \u201cI represent individuals at the lowest times in their lives. I have seen cases that have not been well balanced. I have seen people wrongfully accused,\u201d Legarreta said at a January forum hosted by the Bexar County Democratic Party. \u201cWe have to change our system now.\u201d<\/p>\n Outside of that work, Legarreta chairs the Hispanic Women\u2019s Network of Texas and serves as the chair-elect for the Hispanic Lawyers Section of the State Bar of Texas, where she says she\u2019s been on the frontlines of trying to diversify Bexar County\u2019s courtrooms.<\/p>\n Bexar County has never had a Latina for its District Attorney, and she\u2019s among several candidates running this year who could be the first.<\/p>\n \u201cI have been discriminated against in court by white men telling me, \u2018Mija, what are you doing here?’\u201d she said at the January forum. \u201cI\u2019m fighting for my client. That\u2019s what I\u2019m doing, and that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do for Bexar County.\u201d<\/p>\n Luz Elena Chapa<\/a><\/p>\n Luz Elena Chapa<\/a>, 52, was elected twice as a justice on the 32-county Fourth Court of Appeals, giving her the most political experience in the race. But her opponents point out she\u2019d be an unusual choice for DA, having never served as a lead prosecutor before.<\/p>\n Chapa brushed off that criticism at Tuesday\u2019s debate, saying that as an appellate judge she\u2019s \u201cgraded all of their papers,\u201d and knows how to \u201cwork a case from the ground up.\u201d <\/p>\n She\u2019s framed her lack of experience in the DA\u2019s office as a uniquely fresh perspective, and won over allies in law enforcement<\/a> by lobbing some of the toughest criticisms of the office\u2019s current administration.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do have a big issue of repeat offenders, especially habitual repeat offenders \u2026 who have actually been let go and then they re-offend,\u201d she said Tuesday. \u201cWe haven\u2019t been tough on crime in our community. We need to make serious changes to improve public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n Chapa worked as a visiting judge after losing her seat on the Fourth Court of Appeals<\/a> in 2024, when Republicans spent big money to wipe out Democratic appellate judges<\/a> across the state.<\/p>\n She resigned that role to run for DA, loaned her campaign $100,000 to start, and has since raised about $100,000 more, putting her at the top of the fundraising charts<\/a>.<\/p>\n At debates she\u2019s leaned on a compelling personal narrative, recalling how she spent time in courtrooms as a child while her immigrant mother fought an alcoholic father for custody. But she\u2019s struggled to present a clear vision for how she\u2019d get up to speed on the role, something she acknowledged in the face of criticism from other candidates on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n \u201cI admit, I\u2019m not the world\u2019s best debater, but I can certainly weather political attacks pretty well,\u201d she said at the San Antonio Report\u2019s debate. \u201cMore importantly, I\u2019m the only candidate who can bring real change to the DA\u2019s office, because I\u2019m the only one on this stage who hasn\u2019t been a part of the problems and the dysfunction.\u201d<\/p>\n Meredith Chacon<\/a><\/p>\n Meredith Chacon<\/a>, 51, grew up dreaming of being the District Attorney, and spent most of her career there before Gonzales was elected in 2018.<\/p>\n She handled cases involving domestic violence and human trafficking, and eventually oversaw the division handling child protection cases, where she says she gained a reputation as an innovative prosecutor.<\/p>\n \u201cI have only ever wanted this job, I have felt called to it since I was very young,\u201d she said at the Democratic Party\u2019s debate in January. \u201cI want to protect victims and I have always done that \u2026 even as a child. I don\u2019t suffer bullies.\u201d<\/p>\n But Chacon found herself at odds with the new progressive DA, and left to go into private practice before he took office. She later tried to run against Gonzales in 2022, but didn\u2019t advance from the GOP primary.<\/p>\n \u201cI am a woman of principle, and I did not want to work for the current administration,\u201d she said of that decision. \u201cI saw what problems were coming when you put political advantage and political gain in front of what is best for victims.\u201d<\/p>\n Chacon said she\u2019s still a sounding board for both prosecutors and law enforcement officers, who frequently call seeking her help on cases. <\/p>\n She\u2019s also trained prosecutors across the state with the Texas District & County Attorneys Association, as well as victim advocates with the children\u2019s advocacy center \u2014 experience she said has earned her allies among those she\u2019d be managing at the DA\u2019s office.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a prosecutor approach me the morning I filed, and he said, \u2018I was going to turn in my notice, but I heard you filed, and I\u2019m hanging on because I\u2019m hoping you\u2019re going to win,’\u201d Chacon told the crowd Tuesday night. \u201cI know that they want me, I know that they respect me. If you want someone to teach you how to go into battle, you need someone who\u2019s been in the battle themselves.\u201d <\/p>\n James \u201cJim\u201d Bethke<\/a><\/p>\n Jim Bethke<\/a>, 52, is a U.S. Army veteran and longtime executive director of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, a state agency that oversees public defense for people who can\u2019t afford it.<\/p>\n Since leaving that role in 2017, he\u2019s traveled the state setting up public defense programs in Lubbock and Harris County, and Judge Ron Rangel recruited him to run the Bexar County\u2019s Managed Assigned Counsel Office in 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cI am the only candidate with experience and qualifications to lead this district attorney\u2019s office into the 21st century,\u201d Bethke said at Tuesday\u2019s debate. \u201cFor more than 30 years I have built from scratch three major justice programs \u2026 I know what works. I know what doesn\u2019t. I know how to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n Though new to San Antonio, Bethke picked up the endorsement<\/a> of the Texas Organizing Project, a deep-pocketed bail reform group that\u2019s formidable in Democratic primaries, but has come under criticism after posting bond<\/a>\u00a0for a man who went on to\u00a0kill six people<\/a>\u00a0in Bexar County in 2023.<\/p>\n At the January forum, Bethke said he caught the attention of progressive groups because his life\u2019s work has been about providing \u201cequal justice for all,\u201d something he\u2019s even advised on at the The Hague, a court in the Netherlands that handles international war crimes.<\/p>\n While that may not be the same mission as a district attorney, he continued, the DA\u2019s office lacks a strategic vision, and needs to get better at advocating for itself in front of the lawmakers holding the purse strings.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re going to run a major organization or major county, there\u2019s certain principles that you\u2019ve got to apply,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat separates me from the other candidates \u2026 [I\u2019m] somebody that\u2019s got both serious local [and] serious state-level legislative experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Oscar Salinas<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BexarCountyDA_DistrictAttorneyDebate_DemocraticCandidates_Primary2026_01_02.03.2026_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
Prosecutor Jane Davis listens to her opponents speak during the Bexar County District Attorney Debate hosted by the San Antonio Report and the Greater San Antonio Chamber at the Carver Community Cultural Center on Tuesday night. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BexarCountyDA_DistrictAttorneyDebate_DemocraticCandidates_Primary2026_07_02.03.2026_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
Prosecutor Angelica\u00a0\u201cMeli\u201d\u00a0Carri\u00f3n Powers speaks during the Bexar County District Attorney Debate hosted by the San Antonio Report and the Greater San Antonio Chamber at the Carver Community Cultural Center on Tuesday night. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BexarCountyDA_DistrictAttorneyDebate_DemocraticCandidates_Primary2026_17_02.03.2026_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
Criminal defense attorney Shannon Locke speaks during the Bexar County District Attorney Debate hosted by the San Antonio Report and the Greater San Antonio Chamber at the Carver Community Cultural Center on Tuesday night. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BexarCountyDA_DistrictAttorneyDebate_DemocraticCandidates_Primary2026_04_02.03.2026_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
Criminal defense attorney Veronica Legarreta speaks during the Bexar County District Attorney Debate hosted by the San Antonio Report and the Greater San Antonio Chamber at the Carver Community Cultural Center on Tuesday night. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BexarCountyDA_DistrictAttorneyDebate_DemocraticCandidates_Primary2026_21_02.03.2026_AmberEsparza-1.j.jpeg\")
Luz Elena Chapa, a former Fourth Court of Appeals justice, speaks during the Bexar County District Attorney Debate hosted by the the San Antonio Report and the Greater San Antonio Chamber at the Carver Community Cultural Center on Tuesday night. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BexarCountyDA_DistrictAttorneyDebate_DemocraticCandidates_Primary2026_19_02.03.2026_AmberEsparza-1.j.jpeg\")
Criminal defense attorney Meredith Chacon answers a question during the Bexar County District Attorney Debate hosted by the San Antonio Report and the Greater San Antonio Chamber at the Carver Community Cultural Center on Tuesday night. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BexarCountyDA_DistrictAttorneyDebate_DemocraticCandidates_Primary2026_11_02.03.2026_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
James Bethke, executive director of the Managed Assigned Counsel Office, speaks during the Bexar County District Attorney Debate hosted by the San Antonio Report and the Greater San Antonio Chamber at the Carver Community Cultural Center on Tuesday night. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BexarCountyDA_DistrictAttorneyDebate_DemocraticCandidates_Primary2026_25_02.03.2026_AmberEsparza-1.j.jpeg\")
Prosecutor Oscar Salinas speaks during the Bexar County District Attorney Debate hosted by the San Antonio Report and the Greater San Antonio Chamber at the Carver Community Cultural Center on Tuesday night. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n