Sakai ended the night with a solid 58 percent of the vote.
Although absentee, early, and election day voters all favored Sakai, his advantage was narrowest among election day votes. 12,122 voters cast ballots for Sakai on Tuesday night, compared to 11,312 for Minjarez.
Sakai has managed the Bexar County Children’s Court for over 25 years. Minjarez has represented San Antonio’s House District 124 in the Texas legislature for seven years.
Bexar County leans Democratic, and the county’s blue tint has deepened over the past four years. According to voting data, Sakai will likely defeat Republican nominee and former county commissioner Trish DeBerry in November and replace outgoing Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, who has comfortably kept the office for two decades.
However, Democrats and Republicans alike acknowledge that much of South Texas is in flux. Minjarez has pledged to support Sakai in the general election, and DeBerry remains optimistic about her own chances.
Both candidates entered the race with backgrounds in family issues from their respective branches of the government. Along with Medicaid for children and human trafficking prevention, Minjarez prioritized foster care reform during her time in the legislature, an issue of particular relevance to Bexar County after litigation and COVID-19 contributed to the collapse of a new foster care model in the county last year.
Minjarez made a wedge issue out of the city’s failed paid leave policy, which Sakai enjoined as a judge.
Sakai has said he prioritizes growing job training programs and drawing in new business.
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