El Pasoans elected several new judges in the Democratic Party primary who will take over the benches as they face no Republican challengers in the fall General Election. Two El Paso County judicial races are headed to a primary runoff election.
Amanda Enriquez won the 171st District Court judicial seat and will face no challenger in the November General Election. Chris Anchondo claimed victory in the Democratic Party primary for the 120th District Court and will face incumbent 120th District Court Judge Ben Ivey for the seat in November.
Two judicial races — 168th Judicial District Court and County Court at Law No. 2 — will be decided in the runoff election.
The Texas primary runoff election will be held on Tuesday, May 26. The General Election will be on Nov. 3.
171st District Court Judge
Prominent El Paso attorney Amanda Enriquez won the 171st District Court judicial seat, holding on to a large lead from early voting to claim the seat.
Enriquez finished with more than 67% of the votes compared to 33% for attorney Alex Cuellar.
She will take over the 171st District Court seat in January, since there was no Republican challenger in the Republican primary.
Enriquez worked as an assistant district attorney from 2012 to 2021 when she moved to the El Paso County Public Defender’s Office to work as a trial team chief. She has tried more than 80 criminal cases, including capital murder and aggravated assault cases.
She currently serves as a senior division chief at the El Paso District Attorney’s Office.
120th District Court Judge
Attorney Chris Anchondo won the Democratic Party primary for the 120th District Court judicial seat with nearly 64% of the total votes.
Anchondo defeated Leonard “Lenny” Morales, who compiled about 36% of the votes in the primary.
Anchondo is an attorney who has practiced law for 18 years, handling criminal, family, civil and probate court cases.
He will face incumbent 120th District Court Judge Ben Ivey in the November General Election. Ivey was unopposed in the Republican Party primary.
168th Judicial District Court
Enrique A. Holguin and Bernardo Cruz are headed to a primary runoff election for the Democratic Party nomination in the 168th Judicial District Court in the November General Election.
In a close race, Holguin finished with about 37% of the votes, with Cruz close behind at about 34%. Robert J. Perez ended the night with about 29%.
Since no candidate received more than 50% of the votes, Holguin and Cruz will now face off in the runoff in May.
The winner will go up against Republican R. Wayne Pritchard in the November General Election. Pritchard was unopposed in the Republican primary.
County Court at Law No. 2
Attorneys Christina Montes and Frances M. Maldonado will face off in the runoff for the County Court at Law No. 2 judicial seat.
Montes gathered about 45% of the votes, while Maldonado received more than 33% — both below the 50%-plus one threshold for victory. Sergio A. Saldivar finished in third with about 22% of the votes.
With no Republican challenger in the November General Election, the winner of the May runoff election will win the seat.
County Court at Law No. 4
Eunice Reyes captured enough votes to avoid a runoff election for the judicial seat for County Court at Law No. 4.
Reyes, an lawyer for 12 years with experience as a municipal and jail magistrate judge, finished with more than 52% percent of the votes to claim the seat outright. She defeated Judge Marcos Lizarraga and lawyer Jeff Rago.
Lizarraga, who is currently judge of the 168th District Court, received more than 34% of the votes, while Rago tallied more than 13%.
Reyes will begin presiding over County Court at Law No. 4 in January as she faces no Republican challenger in the November General Election.
County Probate Court No. 2
Attorney Gabriella M. Reed won the County Probate Court No. 2 judge seat after defeating veteran Judge Sergio H. Enriquez in the Democratic Party primary election.
Reed received more than 54% of the votes, while Enriquez, who currently serves as judge for the 448th District Court, finished with less than 46%.
Reed will take over as County Probate Court No. 2 in January since no Republican challengers were vying for the seat in the Republican primary.
Aaron Martinez covers the criminal justice system for the El Paso Times. He may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Enriquez wins 171st District Court, 2 judicial races head to runoffs
Reporting by Aaron Martinez, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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