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<\/p>\nThe race for El Paso County judge will determine who leads county government and helps shape decisions on taxes, spending and public policy for the next four years.<\/p>\n
The county judge serves as the presiding officer of Commissioners Court, which oversees county government operations and is responsible for adopting the county budget, setting the tax rate and establishing county policies. The office also plays a role in economic development efforts and has the authority to declare local emergencies.<\/p>\n
El Paso voters will choose who will serve as county judge in the Nov. 3 General Election.<\/p>\n
The county judge serves a four-year term and earns an annual salary of $152,725.<\/p>\n
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El Paso County Commissioners Court deliberates the proposed budget and tax rate inside the Judge Alicia Chacon Commissioners Courtroom at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse on Monday.<\/p>\n
More: Ranchers cheer as Mexican cattle cross US border after 16-month halt<\/a><\/p>\n Who are the candidates for El Paso County judge?<\/p>\n Incumbent Ricardo Samaniego is facing Republican challenger Minerva Torres Shelton for the seat.<\/p>\n Samaniego, 77, is seeking his third term as county judge. He has served in the position since 2019.<\/p>\n Samaniego worked in both the private and public sectors before taking public office. He has experience as a human resources consultant on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, a clinical therapist, and a professor at El Paso Community College.<\/p>\n El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego<\/p>\n More: Immigrants held at Camp East Montana protest over Labor Day weekend<\/a><\/p>\n Torres Shelton, 58, was born in Oxnard, California, but moved to Michoacan, Mexico, with her family when she was young. She and her family returned to the United States when she was 8 years old.<\/p>\n She is a U.S. Army veteran, a former El Paso police officer and a retired FBI supervisory special agent.<\/p>\n She previously ran for El Paso County sheriff in the 2024 election, losing to Oscar Ugarte<\/a>.<\/p>\n Minerva Torres Shelton, 2026 candidate for El Paso county judge.<\/p>\n More: ‘Ju\u00e1rez and the border are safer.’ Mexico inaugurates Sentinel Tower<\/a><\/p>\n What are the issues in 2026 midterms?<\/p>\n The 2026 election cycle has produced several high-profile incumbent defeats in El Paso County. In the March Democratic primary, Commissioners David Stout, Precinct 2, and Sergio Coronado, Precinct 4, both lost their reelection bids.<\/a><\/p>\n Some voters cited the Commissioners Court’s decision to increase elected officials’ salaries as a factor in their decision to replace Stout and Coronado with fellow Democrats.<\/p>\n Whether that sentiment will carry into the county judge’s race remains unclear. Samaniego ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.<\/p>\n Samaniego has pointed to his experience in both the public and private sectors as a key asset. His reelection campaign highlights his leadership during the 2019 Walmart mass shooting<\/a>, the COVID-19 pandemic and economic development efforts during his two terms in office.<\/p>\n If reelected, Samaniego said he plans to continue promoting El Paso as a destination for investment and attracting manufacturing and other industries to the Borderland, which he argues can help ease the property tax burden on residents.<\/p>\n “The solution is to take the tax (burden) from the people by bringing more and more companies to carry the bulk,” Samaniego said. “There is not going to be a solution to lowering taxes that is greater than a vibrant community with businesses that are growing, and more and more people coming in, increasing wages.”<\/p>\n He said he hopes to finish what he started when he was first elected county judge, including expanding health care and building a proper response to developments around the Bridge of the Americas by improving the Tornillo border crossing for commercial transit.<\/p>\n El Paso County Sheriff Oscar Ugarte (bottom right corner) appears virtually in a video airing of an El Paso County Commissioners Court meeting over a Sheriff’s Office budget deficit at a meeting on Sept. 21, 2026.<\/p>\n Torres Shelton is running on a platform emphasizing government accountability, fiscal transparency and looking to protect taxpayers’ dollars. She has proposed focusing on essential services \u2014 such as public safety and infrastructure \u2014 and carrying out an audit of the county’s budget.<\/p>\n “I want to look at the budget, line by line,” Torres Shelton said. “I’m going to direct somebody to audit the budget. Do we have any duplications? Do we have unnecessary spending?”<\/p>\n![\"El](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/the-el-paso-times\/23e9a449f15ac8a5105479c60ab8c77f.jpg\"\/)
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