Texas is one of 13 states that elect most or all judges in partisan elections, meaning candidates are listed on the ballot with a political party affiliation. Only one Republican \u2013 Ward Koehler in 1982 \u2013 has been elected to a district judgeship in El Paso in records dating to 1900.<\/p>\n
El Paso Matters offered interviews to all seven Democrats in contested district court primary races to discuss their history, judicial philosophy, and what voters can take away from their choice of party affiliation. Only one candidate didn\u2019t respond.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ELEX2026_judge_120.png\")
Chris Anchondo and Leonard \u201cLenny\u201d Morales.<\/p>\n
120th District Court<\/p>\n
The last person elected to the 120th District Court bench was Maria Salas Mendoza, who gave up the seat when she was elected chief justice of the 8th Court of Appeals in 2024. Ivey was appointed by the governor in 2025 to fill the remainder of her term, which runs through Dec. 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
The Democratic primary features two veteran attorneys, Chris Anchondo and Leonard \u201cLenny\u201d Morales.<\/p>\n
Anchondo said he has \u201cthat ability to show compassion and the ability to listen to people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile experience does matter, it also comes down to, are you able to show humility? Are you able to show compassion? And I believe I have that. I believe I\u2019ve demonstrated that throughout my career and I feel that that\u2019s what separates me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Morales said legal experience and temperament are key characteristics for a judge.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy temperament, it means that you\u2019re not going to fly off the handle, you\u2019re not going to make snap judgments, you\u2019re not going to get angry and do something that you need to take back later,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said legal experience \u2013 he\u2019s been an attorney 10 years longer than Anchondo \u2013 should be a key difference for voters. \u201cI know I\u2019ve seen many more trials and courtrooms than he has over the years,\u201d Morales said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Morales is an El Paso native who graduated from the New Mexico Military Institute, the University of Houston and Temple University law school. He served as an Army attorney after graduating from law school, and has had a private practice in El Paso since 2003.<\/p>\n
He primarily focuses on criminal defense, and has handled a number of high-profile cases. He represented the man convicted of the 2019 killing of El Paso County Sheriff\u2019s Deputy Peter Herrera, as well as a man acquitted earlier this year in a 1994 triple homicide.<\/p>\n
Anchondo has been an attorney for 18 years, practicing both civil and criminal law. He said he\u2019s had more than 100 jury trials as a criminal defense lawyer.<\/p>\n
He was born and raised in El Paso and graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso and Penn State law school.\u00a0 He said a good judge sees those appearing in his or her court as people, and listens to what they want.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople coming into court are not used to being in court. They\u2019re not lawyers. It\u2019s generally a very agitating, very emotional and very anxious experience for most people. And so there\u2019s got to be a human portion to being up there and having basically an effect on everybody\u2019s life depending on the outcome,\u201d Anchondo said.<\/p>\n
He said he\u2019s seeking the Democratic nomination because he\u2019s always identified with the party and its values. \u201cI think they stand on due process, and they stand on the Constitution, and they stand on equal protection for everyone,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
ELECTION 2026 VOTER GUIDE: Everything you need to know about the March 3 primary elections in El Paso<\/a><\/p>\n Morales said he is running as a Democrat because he views himself as a liberal in the mold of former President John F. Kennedy.<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone that is looking forward, someone that\u2019s looking to treat people fairly, to interpret the law fairly, to not put your foot on the scale one way or the other, to call balls and strikes as it were,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Anchondo so far has funded his campaign largely through a personal $19,000 loan, along with $2,500 donations from attorneys Daniel Anchondo and David Leeper. Morales reported spending about $3,300 from his personal funds.<\/p>\n 168th District Court<\/p>\n The longtime incumbent on the 168th District Court bench, Marcos Lizarraga<\/a>, opted to run for a county court at law seat rather than seek re-election.<\/p>\n Three attorneys are seeking the Democratic nomination \u2013 Bernardo Cruz, Robert Perez and Enrique Holguin. Holguin told El Paso Matters he isn\u2019t actively campaigning for the seat and didn\u2019t respond to an interview request.<\/p>\n Cruz, who was born in El Paso and grew up in Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez, said he was \u201ca border kid.\u201d He attended El Paso Catholic schools and graduated from UTEP. He worked as a banker before deciding to go to law school at the University of Seattle.<\/p>\n He graduated from law school in 2016, and his initial legal work was with farmworkers in Washington state. His interest in civil rights work brought him back to El Paso in 2018 as an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union. Since 2023, he has been an assistant county attorney.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Cruz said his experience in civil law, rather than criminal, makes him the best choice for this judgeship, which handles both types of cases.<\/p>\n \u201cMost general judges primarily focus on criminal law experience. And for me, I\u2019ve been focused on civil litigation only. I think I\u2019m prepared to really study and work as hard as possible to learn any new area of law,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n SEE ALSO: Some El Paso candidates face no opposition in the March primaries. Who they are and what\u2019s next\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Perez grew up in El Paso and graduated from UTEP and the University of Michigan Law School, long regarded as one of the nation\u2019s premier law schools. He\u2019s been an attorney for 39 years, starting with a two-year tenure as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Lucius Bunton.<\/p>\n He has handled both civil and criminal cases across the country, and estimates he\u2019s had jury trials during his career.<\/p>\n Perez said he would bring far more experience to the bench than Cruz. He said that will allow him to reduce the case backlog in the 168th District Court that began with the COVID-19 pandemic and continues.<\/p>\n He said he will use a lesson from Bunton, a federal judge from 1979 to 2000: \u201cOne of the main things that I learned from him is that good lawyers work things out amongst themselves, if they can, and the court\u2019s there to facilitate that process and at times to push them, because justice delayed is justice denied.\u00a0<\/p>\n Perez said Bunton demonstrated many of the qualities in a good judge. He said Bunton treated everyone \u2013 from jurors to attorneys to parties in the case \u2013 with respect.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst and foremost, I think the judge needs to respect the position that he\u2019s in. Just because you\u2019re a judge doesn\u2019t mean that it automatically comes with any kind of special prestige,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cruz said a good judge is someone whose life has led them to interact with a wide range of people.<\/p>\n \u201cI think looking for someone who\u2019s had the type of experience where you think they\u2019ve had access to people from all types of backgrounds, who know the difficulties of the justice system for all populations,\u201d Cruz said. \u201cAnd I think who\u2019ve performed and acted in a way where you would feel comfortable knowing that, yes, this person has a valid set of values that are close to their heart and that they actually act upon them in a professional way.\u201d<\/p>\n He said he is running as a Democrat because the party best aligns with his values.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that I try to live my life upon certain values \u2013 respect for everyone, you treat people with dignity, you work hard, try to use common sense when you can. And I think the party, the Democratic group, to me, at least tries to live up to those values. I don\u2019t see my values reflected in the other major party,\u201d Cruz said.<\/p>\n Perez said he\u2019s running as a Democrat for both practical and personal reasons. He said you can only get elected to a judgeship in El Paso while running as a Democrat. And he said that while he has some conservative positions, he said values from his childhood draw him to the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n \u201cMy parents always taught me to treat everybody with respect and to work hard and to never doubt yourself. So I grew up with work ethic and understanding that you need to treat people fairly no matter who they are. And in that respect, I bring that as a Democrat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Cruz has raised $29,000 in contributions to his campaign, more than any other candidate for a contested district judge race. He also has loaned his campaign $16,000. His top donations include $2,550 from engineer Diana Ramirez, $2,500 from hotelier Karim Hagar, and $2,000 each from candy store manager Miguel Gonzalez and Jorge Saad, a product manager.<\/p>\n Perez has reported raising only $1,500 from himself. He said he intends to raise more money.<\/p>\n 171st District Court<\/p>\n Two prosecutors in the District Attorney\u2019s Office are seeking the Democratic nomination for the judgeship held by Bonnie Rangel since 2015<\/a>. She decided not to seek reelection shortly before the filing deadline in December.<\/p>\n Amanda Enriquez and Alex Cuellar are both experienced prosecutors. Cuellar also is currently a member of the El Paso Independent School District Board of Trustees.<\/p>\n Enriquez said her experience as both a prosecutor and defense attorney, and her experience as a manager, make her the better choice in this election.<\/p>\n \u201cI think my experience having been able to advocate for both sides, more importantly, not only as a public defender and a prosecutor, but running a courtroom is not just dealing with the cases and making rulings, it\u2019s managing the courtroom, managing a docket. I\u2019m your only candidate that has managerial or leadership or supervisory experience,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Enriquez grew up as a \u201cproud farmer\u2019s daughter\u201d in Canutillo and graduated from UTEP and the Charlotte School of Law in North Carolina. After law school she worked for her uncle\u2019s law firm until she was hired by El Paso District Attorney Jaime Esparza in 2012.<\/p>\n She supported James Montoya in the 2020 Democratic primary to succeed Esparza, and was not retained as a prosecutor by Yvonne Rosales, who defeated Montoya. She was a critic of Rosales \u2013 who resigned in 2022<\/a> as she faced a court effort to remove her from office \u2013 before and after the election.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ELEX2026_judge_168.png\")
Robert Perez and Bernardo Cruz.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ELEX2026_judge_171.png\")
Amanda Enriquez and Alex Cuellar.<\/p>\n