Results: El Paso Mayor
Update (10:35 PM): The race for El Paso Mayor will go to a runoff election between Renard Johnson and Brian Kennedy.
Update (8:12 PM): 36% of voters have cast their ballots for mayoral candidate Renard Johnson. Brian Kennedy is currently in second place with 26% of the vote. Right now Cassandra Hernandez has 9% of the vote, while Steven B. Winters is in fourth place with 8%. Isabel Salcido currently has 7% of the votes.
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)-- In the 2024 Election, El Pasoans will be voting for the next City Mayor. Eight people are running, three of them are current City Representatives. After serving two terms, current Mayor Oscar Leeser is at his term limit and cannot run for reelection.
The following candidates on the ballot include:
- Renard U. Johnson, businessman
- Cassandra Hernandez, city representative
- Brian Kennedy, city representative and attorney
- Isabel Salcido, city representative, realtor, and business owner
- Marco Antonio Contreras, restaurant owner
- Steven B. Winters, Army retiree
- Elizabeth Cordova, magazine owner
- Ben Mendoza, mediator
In a joint project, ABC-7 and El Paso Inc. conducted extended interviews with the mayoral candidates with the most activity in their campaigns, as identified by their campaign finance reports.
ABC-7 sat down with City Representative for District 1, Brian Kennedy, who said some of his campaigns main focuses are keeping taxes low, fixing city streets, public safety, and creating new growth and jobs through economic development. You can see his previous extended interview with ABC-7 and El Paso Inc. here.
ABC-7 asked him about his message to undecided voters.
"One thing I'm proud of is that I've always told people what's going on straight. I've just said, here's what it is. Sometimes that'll get me in trouble. But I think that they know they can trust me, and they can know whether it's good news or bad news, I'm going to tell them exactly what it is so at least we can move forward," said Kennedy. "And I think they should trust that I'm going to take care of their tax money. I'm going to take care of the city, and I'm going to make sure that everybody in the city of El Paso is taken care of."
City Representative for District 3, Cassandra Hernandez, said she will look to build trust and deliver results, if she wins. She adds she would look for Economic development opportunities for the city, better quality of life for El Pasoans, and financial stability. You can see her previous extended interview with ABC-7 and El Paso Inc. here.
ABC-7 asked Hernandez why she believed she is the best candidate for this office.
"I am the only candidate who has consistently delivered results for this city. My track record proves that I don’t just make promises—I fulfill them. With a lifetime of experience living and working in this community, I know what it takes to lead. I am committed to guiding El Paso into a new era of prosperity, with resilience, integrity, and the drive to take bold action. I humbly ask for your vote, because El Paso deserves a leader who will continue fighting for its future," said Hernandez.
El Paso businessman Renard Johnson was the first El Paso mayoral candidate to formally announce his run for the position in January. Johnson, who founded the government contacting company METI, Inc., is running on a varied platform of civic improvements such as public safety, dealing with road maintenance issues, improving local services, and lowering taxes.
In particular and in an extended interview with ABC-7 and El Paso Inc., Johnson has made a point of focusing on fighting the brain drain of people leaving the El Paso area to seek better opportunities.
"My vision is that we can stay in El Paso and do the things that we leave El Paso for, but we can have it right here in our community," Johnson said. "My vision is for Bright El Paso. My vision is for an El Paso - why not us? Why not El Paso? Why are we having to sell ourselves short?"
Current District 5 El Paso City Representative Isabel Salcido announced her run for mayor late in the race in August. She is currently in her second term as a city rep. that was set to end in 2027. Salcido is also a real estate agent/investor and has owned businesses such as bars and restaurants in the region. Her campaign lists a number of issues as priorities such as economic growth, public safety and infrastructure improvement, as well as responsive government.
In her interview with ABC-7 and El Paso Inc., Salcido said that transparency and community engagement were one of the reasons she decided to run for the higher office.
"I've been there (on city council) for six years," Salcido said. "I've seen a lot of things. One of the biggest components that I believe that needs to be taken care of and handled is transparency and community engagement. That is one of my top priorities. A lot of the times we don't have the community engaged in the policymaking that we're doing."o deserves a leader who will continue fighting for its future," said Hernandez.
