Races to watch around San Antonio in the Nov. 5 presidential election

SAN ANTONIO – Read the latest election and political headlines on the Vote 2024 page. See the full ballot here and information on where to vote here.

Voters in Bexar County and beyond are already casting early voting ballots ahead of the Nov. 5 election, including for president, US senator, representatives in the U.S. and Texas houses, plus other candidates running for office at the state and local levels. Some voters will also decide municipal and school propositions.

Following is a look at some of the key and competitive races we’ll be watching on Election Day.

President

This is the race that everyone will be watching.

The winner of this hotly contested race is already familiar with the White House, having served as either president or vice president.

On the Republican ticket, former President Donald Trump is seeking a return to the Oval Office. Trump served as the 45th president from 2017-2020 but lost a re-election bid in a bitter battle to current President Joe Biden.

Four years later, Trump is facing Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris after Biden decided to drop out of the race following pressure from a poor performance at a presidential debate with Trump that raised doubts about the incumbent’s fitness for office. Biden endorsed Harris, who if elected, would become the first woman and the first person of South Asian descent to be president.

Trump chose Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate while Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

While Texans will see the presidential election on their ballot, the president is actually elected by electors, or party-selected representatives, from each state. This process is called the Electoral College.

To win the presidency, a candidate must get at least 270 votes from the 538 electors in the Electoral College. Each state gets as many electors as it has U.S. senators and representatives in Congress. In most states, including Texas, whoever wins the most votes from voters gets all the Electoral College votes for that state. Texas has 40 electoral votes.

US Senate

Republican Ted Cruz is seeking re-election as the junior US senator from Texas, having served in office since 2013.

Cruz won a close race in his first re-election bid in 2018, when he defeated Democrat Beto O’Rourke by less than 3% of the vote.

The incumbent faces another tight re-election race in 2024, this time against Democratic US Rep. Colin Allred, of the Dallas area. A number of polls showed Cruz leading Allred by just 3% or less.

The race has huge ramifications for the US Senate. Democrats currently have a very thin majority, with 51 senators caucusing with or aligned to the party versus 49 for the GOP.

Ted Brown, an independent insurance adjuster, is running as a Libertarian Party candidate.

The winner of this race will serve a six-year term and will be one of two members of the US Senate from Texas. The other member is US Sen. John Cornyn.

US Representative District 15

Voters in Texas’ 15th congressional district may experience déjà vu this year when choosing their representatives for the United States Congress.

For the second time in a row, republican Monica De La Cruz, who currently represents the district that spans seven counties from Hidalgo to eastern Guadalupe, is battling democrat Michelle Vallejo.

Election forecasters called the race one of the most competitive in Texas.

In 2022, De La Cruz beat Vallejo by 8%, the closest margin in any congressional race in Texas that year. Nevertheless, De La Cruz’s victory made her the first Republican woman to win the 15th congressional district since it was created in 1903.

According to the Federal Election Commission, De La Cruz has outraised Vallejo by five-to-one this election cycle.

The 15th congressional district represents more than 766,000 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It’s one of the first Latino-majority districts in the country and has had Latino representatives since 1965.

De La Cruz and Vallejo have traded jabs over Social Security and Medicare.

Vallejo has said abortion should be a right and that abortion restrictions in Texas limit freedom. She also says she would work to lower the cost of living for families in the district by creating more manufacturing and energy jobs, enforcing corporate taxes, raising the minimum wage, securing the border, and raising the minimum wage.

De La Cruz has pledged to cut spending, lower taxes on working families and small businesses, make energy affordable, complete infrastructure along the southern border, and reinstate the “remain in Mexico” policy.

All 435 U.S. House seats are up for election in 2024. Republicans have a 220 to 212 majority with three vacancies.

US Representative District 28

People in Texas’s 28th congressional district have had a familiar face representing them since 2005. But in a few weeks, they’ll decide whether to keep embattled Democratic congressman Henry Cuellar and give him an 11th term or elect political newcomer and Republican Jay Furman.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the district represents more than 725,000 constituents from Laredo up to downtown San Antonio.

Cuellar has been in office since January 2005. Recently, his candidacy has been marred by legal trouble. In May 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Cuellar and his wife with 14 criminal counts. He was accused of bribery, money laundering, and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.

As of July 30, 2024, jury selection for Cuellar’s trial was scheduled to begin on March 31, 2025. Cuellar has maintained his innocence and said he hasn’t done anything illegal.

In a statement to KSAT, Cuellar’s spokesperson said if re-elected, Cuellar will fight for access to affordable healthcare, border security, transportation infrastructure, and accessibility to higher education opportunities. Cuellar also pledges to continue to protect Social Security and Medicare and work with “both parties to pass legislation” that supports constituents and grows the economy.

Jay Furman is a U.S. Navy veteran. He obtained a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University in 1998 and a master’s from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2012.

According to Furman’s campaign website, his vision “takes back our southwest border, empowers South Texas small businesses, blocks the woke insanity, and puts Texans back in charge of their day-to-day lives.”

KSAT emailed the Furman campaign several times for comment and is still awaiting his response.

State Representative District 118

A Republican incumbent who flipped this district seat in 2021 is facing a tough challenge to stay in office.

Texas Rep. John Lujan, a former Bexar County sheriff’s deputy and San Antonio firefighter, first won the seat in a special runoff election in January 2016 but lost it months later in the general election to Democrat Tomas Uresti.

Lujan, 62, mounted a campaign comeback and won in November 2021, when he defeated Democrat Frank Ramirez in a special runoff election for the Texas House seat. The two faced off again in the November 2022 general election, with Lujan coming out on top.

The incumbent ran unopposed in the March Republican Primary and now faces Democrat Kristian Carranza in one of the most competitive statehouse races in Texas.

Carranza, 34, is a political strategist who has worked on campaigns for Hillary Clinton, Julian Castro and other politicians. She also worked for the Democratic National Committee as a regional director.

She defeated Carlos Quezada in the March Democratic Primary by capturing 63% of the vote.

Carranza staunchly opposes private school vouchers, saying the program would drain funding for public schools, including teacher pay.

Lujan has said he wants public schools fully funded but has also supported school vouchers. However, Lujan has said he wouldn’t vote for a school voucher plan if it doesn’t include better accountability for private schools.

The other hot-button issue is women’s right to choose, and specifically the current abortion bill.

Lujan has stated he is against abortion. Carranza said she supports abortion rights and the woman’s right to choose.

Texas House District 118 encompasses South, East, and Northeast Bexar County, including Universal City, Selma, Von Ormy, Elmendorf, Somerset, Sandy Oaks, Saint Hedwig, and China Grove.

State Representative District 121

The other Texas House race that’s expected to be competitive is District 121.

Republican Marc LaHood shocked the local political scene when he defeated incumbent Steve Allison in the March GOP Primary.

Allison lost due to his opposition to school vouchers, which angered Gov. Greg Abbott, who campaigned against GOP lawmakers who voted against his agenda.

In a recent debate, LaHood said he’s in favor of school vouchers but wants to “maintain strong public schools.”

LaHood, who ran unsuccessfully against Joe Gonzales for Bexar County District Attorney in November 2022, said his priorities are border security, tougher laws for human traffickers and lowering property taxes.

His opponent, Laurel Swift, cruised to victory in the Democratic Primary in March, capturing 73% of the vote.

Swift is new to politics and got into the race late but has managed to raise more money than LaHood. According to San Antonio Report, Swift outraised LaHood by nearly $28,000 in the last fundraising cycle that ended in June.

The orthopedic device saleswoman said she opposes school vouchers, wants to repeal the state’s abortion laws and supports an expansion of Medicaid.

Bexar County Commissioner Precinct 1

Democrat Rebeca Clay-Flores is seeking her second term in office.

Clay-Flores earned her party nomination after capturing 63% of the vote and defeating Amanda Gonzalez in the May Democratic Party runoff.

She is the first woman of color elected to the Bexar County Commissioner’s Court and is currently the only woman on the court.

Before Clay-Flores was elected, she was a special projects manager for the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District.

Clay-Flores said she’s proud of the work she’s done in the county and will continue to fight for her constituents.

Her opponent, Lina Prado, ran unopposed in the Republican Primary in March.

Prado is a senior supply chain manager at Boeing and serves on the city’s Airport Advisory Board. She started a nonprofit that supports women pursuing careers in aviation.

She said her priorities include public safety, better roads and expanding health care services to the needy.

Bexar County Commissioner Precinct 3

This race is a rematch from 2022 when Republican Grant Moody defeated Democrat Susan Korbel by a 7% margin.

Moody served the final two years that remained from the term vacated by Trish DeBerry, who left office for an unsuccessful run for Bexar County judge.

This is Moody’s first elected position, and he is the only Republican on the court.

He defeated Chris Schuchardt in the GOP Primary in March by a 6% margin.

Moody is a former Marine F-18 pilot who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also held executive roles at USAA and Valero Energy.

Korbel ran unopposed in the Democratic Primary in March.

She owns a public opinion firm and is currently Bexar County Democratic precinct chair. She once served as an Alamo Colleges trustee.

City of San Antonio Charter Amendments

San Antonio voters will decide six proposed city charter amendments, with ate least two of them being controversial.

One garnering the most interest is Proposition C: the city manager’s salary and tenure. If approved, the proposition would undo the salary cap and term limits that 59% of San Antonio voters approved in 2018 following a fire union-led charter campaign. The city manager is currently limited to a salary of up to 10 times the lowest-paid city employee and eight years in the city’s top administrative role. Six years later, the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association hasn’t changed its stance about city manager pay and tenure.

Another controversial and similar amendment is Proposition E: compensation for city council members and the mayor. The proposition calls for raising city council salaries from $45,722 to $70,200 and the mayor’s salary from $61,725 to $87,800.

If a survey conducted by the UTSA Center for Public Opinion Research (CPOR) is any indication, the two propositions are headed for defeat. According to 620 registered San Antonio voters who participated in the survey in September, 51% opposed Proposition E while 69% opposed Proposition C.

Other propositions include extending city council and mayoral terms from two to four years while keeping an eight-year total term limit and allow non-uniformed city employees to participate in local political campaigns.

Editor’s Note: The Associated Press, The Texas Tribune and San Antonio Report provided background for this article.