Primary Runoff Election “unofficial” results, El Paso District Attorney and El Paso County Sheriff
EL PASO, TX (KVIA) -- In a closely contested race for the Democratic nomination for District Attorney, James Montoya holds the lead over Alma Trejo with 52% of the votes to Trejo's 48%, according to unofficial results as of 5:47 a.m.
Montoya spoke to ABC-7 at his watch party, he emphasized his commitment to resolving the Walmart shooter state case and addressing staffing shortages in the DA’s office, “The number one priority is just getting enough people to work there,” Montoya said. “You can't prioritize if you don't have anyone to work on the cases. Once we solve that, we'll start prioritizing. We will always prioritize violent crimes, crimes against families, domestic violence, crimes against children, and repeat DWI.”
If these results hold, Montoya will face incumbent Republican D.A. Bill Hicks in the November general election.
In another key race, Oscar Ugarte leads Robert “Bobby” Flores for the Democratic nomination for El Paso County Sheriff, securing 57% of the votes against Flores' 43%, based on the latest results.
Ugarte has 20 years of law enforcement experience and is currently the El Paso County Constable for Precinct 1. At his watch party last night, he told ABC-7 he is ready to work with the “great talent in the Sheriff’s Office.”
Ugarte also emphasized his commitment and focus on building a civilian social services unit, “I believe that the prison system is not the solution for everything. When deputies go out there to broken families, I want to have the resources to help that community member. If it's mental health, drug abuse, food insecurity, troubled youth, I want to have a social worker to guide them to the right resources in our community so they don't end up in the criminal justice system.”
Ugarte is the projected Democratic candidate to run against Republican Minerva Torres Shelton in November, who ran unopposed in the March primary.
