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Five Candidates Will Run for San Antonio State Rep. Justin Rodriguez's Vacant Seat

By Sanford Nowlin on Tue, Jan 15, 2019 at 12:11 pm

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Via Justin Rodriguez's Facebook page

Former state Rep. Justin Rodriguez addresses county officials during his swearing in as Bexar County Commissioner.

Five candidates have signed up for the February 12 special election to fill the seat of former San Antonio state Rep. Justin Rodriguez, according to the Texas Secretary of State.

Rodriguez, a Democrat, gave up the seat to represent House District 125 this month to replace Bexar County Commissioner Paul Elizondo. Elizondo, a longtime local power broker, died in December at age 83.

The candidates vying to replace Rodriguez are:

Steve Huerta, Democrat, a social justice activist
Ray Lopez, Democrat, a former San Antonio council member
Fred Rangel, Republican, a small business owner
Coda Rayo-Garza, Democrat, an education policy expert
Art Reyna, Democrat, who represented the district from 1997 to 2003

The 4-to-1 skew toward Democrats probably shouldn't be a surprise for the solidly blue district, which includes parts of West and Northwest San Antonio.

Candidates had until 5 p.m. Monday to file. Early voting in the special election starts January 28. Whoever wins will need to hit the ground running — the Texas Legislature is more than a week into its current session.

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