Voters line up to cast their ballots at Lion’s Field in San Antonio. Credit: Sanford Nowlin

Election 2024 was a nail-biter, especially on the national level. Closer to home, that wasn’t the case.

While some San Antonio races remained too close to call at the end of the night, there were plenty of others for which an incumbent landslide was a forgone conclusion.

Thank (or blame) tightly drawn state and federal political maps for that. Some candidates, like U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, even ran unopposed.

Let’s dive in.

Congressional races:

23rd District: U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R) v. Santos Limon (D)
Landing 62.3% of the vote, Gonzales handily won a third term to represent his district, which stretches from Western Bexar County to a large swath of the U.S.-Mexico border. Earlier this year, Gonzales survived a GOP primary battle prompted by his efforts as a bipartisan legislator who’s broken rank with his party on issues including gun safety and protections for same-sex marriage.

28th District: U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D) vs. Jay Furman (R)
Federal authorities charged Cuellar earlier this year with bribery and money laundering, alleging he sold political favors to the government of Azerbaijan. Even so, the longtime congressman won re-election in the 28th District, which stretches from San Antonio to Laredo. Those legal troubles weren’t enough for opponent Furman, an underfunded political novice, to pull off an upset in the Democratic stronghold. Cuellar defeated his rival with 52.4% of the vote.

20th District U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D) unopposed
Castro, a favorite son of San Antonio first elected to Congress in 2013, faced no opponent as he sought to represent the deep blue 20th District once again.

21st District: U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R) vs. Kristin Hook (D)
Surprising few, inflammatory incumbent Roy won re-election in the fire engine-red 21st District, which spans from San Antonio to Austin and includes the Hill Country towns of Kerrville, Boerne and Fredericksburg. Roy won over Hook, a political newcomer, with 61.9% of the vote.

35th District: U.S. Rep. Greg Casar (D) vs. Steven Wright (R)
Casar has enjoyed popularity as a progressive serving District 35, which spans the downtowns of both San Antonio and Austin. Republican challenger Steven Wright never posed much of a challenge in the Democratic stronghold. Casar was victorious with 67.4% of the vote.

Bexar County Commissioners Court:
The two Bexar Country commissioners up for reelection, Precinct 1’s Rebeca Clay-Flores and Precinct 3’s Grant Moody handily beat their opponents. Clay-Flores, a Democrat, bested GOP challenger Lina Prado with 58% of the vote, while Moody, a Republican, won over Democrat Susan Korbel with 55%.

Bexar County Sheriff:

Javier Salazar (D) v. Nathan Buchanan (R)
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar defeated opponent Nathan Buchanan with 57% of the vote, securing a third term. A rare progressive holding an elected law-enforcement position in Texas, Salazar gained an even higher profile ahead of the election thanks to an appearance at the Democratic National Convention.

Current Editor-in-Chief Sanford Nowlin contributed to this report.

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This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2024.

Stephanie Koithan is the Digital Content Editor of the San Antonio Current. In her role, she writes about politics, music, art, culture and food. Send her a tip at skoithan@sacurrent.com.