Candidate filing closed Monday evening for the 2026 midterms, setting the stage for a very different election than the last time most Bexar County offices were on the ballot in 2022.

This time around, no elected Republicans signaled interest in the Bexar County judge race, leaving the party scrambling for a candidate until the final day of filing when social conservative activist Patrick Von Dohlen put his name in the hat.

The blue county has long been tough for Republicans, but favorable political winds last election cycle lured then-GOP Commissioner Trish DeBerry (Pct. 3) out of a seat she’d just won to wage an uphill campaign for county judge.

Even in a good year for the GOP, however, DeBerry took just 39% of the vote in her race against against Democrat Peter Sakai.

As the lone GOP filer for 2026, Von Dohlen will face the winner of a heated primary between two of Democrats’ best-known candidates, Sakai and former Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who will be fighting it out for their party’s nomination in the March primary.

He’ll also be the top of the GOP’s county ticket in an election that features a hard-fought District Attorney race as well as other countywide offices and a number of judicial races.

“He’s a former candidate on a few races, but you know what, I’m just so excited that he’s in there,” said Republican Party of Bexar County Chair Kris Coons. “We weren’t able to [field a candidate] in every race, but I tried very hard, because I think for us in Bexar County, that’s where we’ve got to start.”

Even among fellow Republicans, Von Dohlen can be a polarizing figure.

The conservative firebrand ran unsuccessfully for City Council three times in District 9, in 2017, 2019 and 2021, sending then-Councilman John Courage to a runoff in that final race.

In recent years, he’s been a part of numerous lawsuits challenging the city over issues like its abortion travel fund and plans for VIA’s Advanced Rapid Transit route known as the Green Line.

His PAC, the San Antonio Family Association, sought unsuccessfully to promote a slate conservative school board candidates in North East ISD, and most recently led a prayer vigil protesting the Krampus Parade in King William.

A tough year, a tough county

Nearly all of Bexar County’s countywide offices are on the ballot in 2026.

But headed into the first midterm of President Donald Trump’s administration — when the party in power typically loses seats — many local Republicans seem to be hunkering down for better conditions in the future.

“I’ll be honest, it’s been very tough to recruit,” Coons said of this election cycle. “We’ve seen a lot of great people, you know, suddenly just decide this wasn’t for them.”

The GOP controls just a single seat on the five-member Commissioners Court, where Commissioner Grant Moody (Pct. 3) considered leaving to pursue an open congressional seat this year.

Moody weighed the decision right up to Monday’s deadline but ultimately decided to stay in his commissioner seat where he’s not up for reelection until 2028.

“Although a viable path exists, the challenges it would present to our family are significant and therefore I’ve concluded that this is just not the right time,” he said in a statement Monday. “There will be other opportunities and I assure you I’m not done serving Bexar County, Texas or our great nation.”

Still, Coons said recruitment this year went better overall than two years ago, when the GOP didn’t field a single judicial candidate.

“Last time around 24 Democrats went [into office] without even having to lift a finger,” she said.

This year Republicans have nine judicial candidates running across a total of 40 bench seats.

“Obviously, we didn’t recruit 40 judges, but the ones that we have, we feel very good about,” Koons said.

Democrats are in a very different situation this election cycle, too. They already control every countywide office, but many of those incumbents, including Sakai, face primary challenges.

Bexar County Democratic Party Chair Michelle Lowe Solis said the party also fielded candidates for the most challenging races on their 2026 Texas legislative and congressional maps, a sign of Democrats’ optimism about their prospects in the first midterm of Trump’s administration.

“We can’t win if we’re not playing, and the Texas Democratic Party, along with the county parties, have been focused on making sure we have candidates running in every seat,” she said. “This year will be an important year in pushing Democratic values.”

Bexar County DA race

Perhaps the most attention-grabbing Bexar County race for both parties this election cycle is an opening in the District Attorney’s office, where incumbent DA Joe Gonzales, a Democrat, isn’t seeking reelection.

Democrats fielded eight candidates to take his place, including three new names on the final day of filing: Trial attorney Meredith Chacón, Jane Davis, who serves as chief of the Juvenile Section in the DA’s office, and James Bethke, executive director of the Managed Assigned Counsel Office.

They join former Fourth Court of Appeals Justice Luz Elena Chapa (D), prosecutors Oscar Salinas and Angelica Carrión Powers, and criminal defense attorneys Veronica Legarreta and Shannon Locke in a crowded Democratic primary.

Meanwhile Republicans have just one candidate running, Ashley Foster, a former felony prosecutor, who Coons said was one of their most exciting recruits this cycle.

The race is still an uphill contest, but plays an important role as Republicans make their case against Democrats’ handling of criminal justice issues.

“[Ashley] has 14 years [of experience] in the DA’s office as a prosecuting attorney, so she has great trial experience. She’s now in private practice, and has done very well,” Coons said. “She is a great candidate for us.”