This story has been updated.
The race for Bexar County district attorney is heating up ahead of the May 26 Democratic runoff, as candidates eliminated in the March primary and political groups line up behind two finalists offering sharply different visions for the office.
Former Fourth Court of Appeals Justice Luz Elena Chapa and longtime prosecutor Jane Davis advanced to the runoff after finishing with 24% and 18% of the vote, respectively, in an eight-candidate primary that saw high voter turnout.
Now, the contest is emerging as a choice between two approaches: Chapa, an outsider who has never worked in the DA’s office or prosecuted a case, and who is calling for a tougher stance on crime and stronger relationships with law enforcement; or Davis, a 40-year veteran of the office now leading the juvenile division who plans to build on reforms already in place.
In the weeks since the primary, that divide has become clearer as endorsements begin to fall into place — with Davis quickly locking down support from much of the eliminated field, while Chapa builds a coalition anchored by law enforcement and political leaders.
That dynamic shifted further over the weekend, when District Attorney Joe Gonzales publicly endorsed Davis during a meeting of the Northwest Bexar County Democrats, where Chapa had been speaking, backing one of his top deputies as his successor.
“I understand that Judge Chapa was a fair judge, when she was on the bench, but judge, I’m sorry, this is not the job for you,” Gonzales said. “We need someone who’s experienced, and that’s why I’m full-throatedly endorsing Jane Davis for District Attorney, because she’s the one that doesn’t need on-the-job training.”
Chapa, in a statement on social media, said she had been “berated” by Gonzales during the exchange and said his endorsement underscored the need for change in the office.
“Bexar County deserves better. Change is coming, and the days of complacency are over,” Chapa wrote after the event.
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Meanwhile, Shannon Locke, Veronica Legarreta, Meli Carrion Powers and James Bethke, who collectively took 37.7% of the vote in the primary, have all lined up behind Davis.
“Jane is the most experienced candidate remaining in the race,” said Jim Bethke, who captured the support of progressive outside groups in the first round. “She understands what needs to be corrected in the current administration. She believes in restorative justice, and she will be ready to lead the office on day one.”
Meredith Chacon, a defense attorney who ran in the Republican DA primary in 2022, and Oscar Salinas, a prosecutor in the DA’s office, have not made endorsements in the runoff. Chacon said her recent appointment as a part-time associate judge in the criminal district courts prohibits her from endorsing a candidate. Salinas said he is not planning to endorse a candidate at this time.
For her part, Chapa has received backing from the Deputy Sheriffs Association of Bexar County, the San Antonio Police Officers Association and endorsements from Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar and several local and state officials.
“In the years I have worked with Justice Chapa, I know her to be tough on the law and compassionate when called for,” Salazar wrote in a social media post endorsing her. “With the wealth of knowledge and experience she brings to the job as a former judge, there is no one better qualified to work with first responders in the cause of justice.”
Experience and reform
Gonzales and the former candidates are urging their supporters to coalesce behind Davis as the most qualified option to oversee an office of hundreds of attorneys in the fourth-largest county in the state of Texas.
After meeting with both runoff candidates, Locke said that only Davis was willing to engage with his progressive priorities — including holding federal law enforcement officers like ICE accountable when laws are broken, a key sticking point in his campaign.
Davis has also picked up support from organized labor, with the San Antonio American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization shifting its endorsement to her after backing Locke in the first round.
Davis’ campaign has increasingly leaned into both experience and policy, outlining a platform focused on reducing jail overcrowding through diversion programs, reforming the bail system with risk-based assessments and improving case flow by tightening intake standards.
She has also called for expanding the office’s civil rights division, increasing transparency through data-driven decision-making and creating a citizen oversight council.
One major player, the bail reform group Texas Organizing Project — which backed Bethke in the primary — has not yet weighed in on the runoff. A spokesperson said the group has not made a decision following the primary.
The 2026 primary has also yet to see any influence from national justice reform groups, which had plowed big money into Bexar County’s DA race in 2018.
An outside perspective and law enforcement relations
Chapa, meanwhile, has built a coalition anchored by law enforcement groups and elected officials by positioning herself as a candidate who would shift the direction of the office.
“Her experience, temperament, integrity, and proven leadership are exactly what Bexar County needs,” the Deputy Sheriffs Association PAC said in a statement. “She will bring real and meaningful change to the DA’s office by tackling huge case backlogs, restoring trust and repairing strained relationships — particularly with the law enforcement officers on the front lines.”
Chapa’s campaign has focused heavily on rebuilding relationships with law enforcement and taking a tougher approach to repeat offenders, arguing that Gonzales’ administration has not done enough to address crime.
Chapa has also emphasized increasing funding for the district attorney’s office, reducing case backlogs — particularly in domestic violence cases — and expanding support for crime victims, including trauma-informed training for prosecutors.
Though she has not served as a prosecutor, Chapa has framed her candidacy as an opportunity to bring outside leadership to an office she describes as dysfunctional.
“Clearly voters want change in the DA office from someone who is an outsider who can fix all of the problems and who hasn’t been part of the dysfunction in the office,” Chapa said, referring to her top-of-the-pack finish in the March 3 primary.
A referendum on Gonzales’ legacy
The open-seat race follows Gonzales’ June 2025 decision not to seek reelection, ending a tenure that began in 2018 as part of a national wave of progressive prosecutors.
During his time in office, Gonzales implemented policies aimed at reducing jail populations for low-level offenses, expanding diversion programs and creating a civil rights division to review cases involving police use of force. His administration also prioritized prosecuting violent crime while steering some nonviolent offenders away from incarceration.
Those policies have drawn both praise and criticism — shaping a runoff that is, in many ways, a referendum on whether that approach should continue.
That tension came into sharper focus over the weekend, when Gonzales publicly criticized Chapa’s characterization of the office as dysfunctional, accusing her of misrepresenting the work done under his administration while announcing his endorsement of Davis.
Gonzales addressed Chapa directly over her claims of a persistent family violence backlog, saying the office has already reduced that backlog by 40%.
“It offends me when you attack our people for working hard. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I made the effort to get up this morning to correct false narratives,” he said. “I’m respectfully asking you, judge, that you give correct information and not do what you’ve done throughout this entire debate.”
Davis has aligned herself with much of that framework, arguing the office should build on reforms while improving internal operations, including reducing case backlogs and increasing staffing.
“I believe that we want progressive justice to continue. … The DA’s office can protect us from people that have demonstrated their inability to conform to the laws of the land,” she said. “But I think the DA’s office has also done well to help those who have just stumbled and made a mistake to be rehabilitated and not be thrown into the criminal justice system and a pipeline toward prison.”
Chapa, by contrast, has made clear she intends to take the office in a different direction, emphasizing closer collaboration with law enforcement and a more aggressive approach to prosecution.
The primary runoff is set for May 26, with early voting taking place from May 18 to May 22.
The top vote-taker will become the Democratic nominee in a county that has reliably voted blue in recent election cycles and will be favored in November’s general election against Republican Ashley Foster, along with a potential independent candidate.
