Former law enforcement officer Minerva Torres Shelton has secured the Republican nomination in the primary against consultant Guadalupe Giner for El Paso County judge.<\/p>\n
Torres Shelton received 62% of the total votes, with Giner taking 38%.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the numbers are very telling. It shows that there\u2019s a movement behind me. The movement is just regular people who are tired of being over taxed and underrepresented, and people want change and I\u2019m very humbled and grateful for that because the people have finally decided that we need to push back because we\u2019re being taxed out of our own homes,\u201d Torres Shelton said at her election night watch party with supporters at Minerva\u2019s Diner & Drinks in the Lower Valley.<\/p>\n
Torres Shelton said she will head into the November election with the same strategy: by talking directly with constituents.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to continue talking to regular people, talking to small businesses, because that\u2019s what I want to do. My heart is with the community. My heart is with small businesses. They\u2019ve been forgotten for too long,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Giner said she was grateful to her family, campaign team and voters for supporting her vision for a stronger, more accountable El Paso County.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the results were not what we hoped, I congratulate Minerva Torres Shelton on her victory in the Republican primary,\u201d Giner said.<\/p>\n
Torres Shelton will face Democrat incumbent Ricardo Samaniego in the Nov. 3 election. Samaniego, who is seeking his third term, was unopposed in the Democratic primary.<\/p>\n
Giner, 62, a community affairs consultant, ran unsuccessfully as an independent candidate for county judge against Samaniego in 2022.<\/p>\n
She raised about $2,850 for her campaign as of Feb. 23, and loaned her campaign about $15,000. Ginger spent about $8,500 in the last reporting period, and about $18,300 overall this campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Torres Shelton, 57, is an Army veteran, former police officer and retired FBI agent, who ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for El Paso County sheriff in November 2024.<\/p>\n
Shelton raised about $8,700 as of Feb. 23 and loaned her campaign $10,000. She spent about $4,790 in the last reporting period, and about $11,400 overall this campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The county judge is one of five voting members of the elected Commissioners Court, which sets the county\u2019s annual tax rate, adopts an annual budget, makes policy decisions and hires and oversees the county administrator. The county government has about 3,100 employees and an operating budget of $653 million this fiscal year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The court also adopts the tax rate and budget of University Medical Center of El Paso, the county\u2019s public hospital.<\/p>\n
The county judge can also declare local disasters and public emergencies.<\/p>\n
The position is a four-year term and pays $152,700 a year. The next county judge will take office in January 2027.<\/p>\n
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