El Paso runoff candidate in Saturday’s election dies after battle with Covid-19

EL PASO, Texas -- Lillian Blancas, an El Paso attorney who is in a runoff for a municipal judgeship, died Monday while hospitalized with Covid-19. She was 47.

The El Paso Bar Association announced her death in an email.

Blancas finished first in a three-way race Nov. 3 for the Municipal Court 4 bench, winning 40% of the vote. Because no candidate won a majority of votes, she faces Enrique Alonso Holguin in Saturday’s runoff election.

She opened her own law practice last year after several years working for the El Paso County Public Defender’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office. Blancas also worked part-time as a magistrate judge. She was a graduate of Burges High School, the University of Texas at El Paso and the Texas Tech University School of Law.

If Blancas wins the runoff,  the City Council would appoint a person to fill the position.