Gina Ortiz Jones was declared the winner in the runoff election deciding the next mayor of San Antonio on June 7.
Voters in San Antonio returned to the polls on June 7 after a general election held on May 3 saw a field of 27 candidates for mayor shrink to two: Gina Ortiz Jones and Rolando Pablos.
With the closing of polls at 7 p.m. CDT, early voting numbers were released showing Ortiz Jones leading Pablos 53,645 votes to 48,863 votes, according to Decision Desk HQ.
This is the first time since 2005 that San Antonio elected a mayor who did not previously serve on the city council and the first time in 16 years that did not include an incumbent on the ballot. However, both candidates still entered the race with significant experience in politics.
The mayoral race is officially nonpartisan, but they each came from and were endorsed by their respective parties.
Ortiz Jones, an Air Force veteran, came out of the Biden administration, where she served as the undersecretary of the Air Force and earned the endorsement of Congressmen Greg Casar (D-Texas) and Joaquin Castro (D-Texas). She also earned the endorsement of former mayors Phil Hardberger and Julian Castro, as well as several councilmembers. She was also endorsed by the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations and the family of Cesar Chavez.
Her campaign focused on working families and young people, as well as lowering the cost of living.
The current mayor, Ron Nirenberg, is also a registered Democrat.
Ortiz Jones’s win continues San Antonio’s decades-long streak of Democratic mayors. The home of the Alamo has not had a Republican mayor in 30 years.
Pablos, on the other hand, served as Texas’s secretary of state from 2016 to 2017 and carried the endorsement of former Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), the Gov. Greg Abbott-affiliated PAC The Texas Economic Fund, and the San Antonio Police Officers’ Association.
His campaign prioritized public safety, government accountability, small businesses, and improving city services.
Despite the number of candidates on the original ballot, the winner still needed to earn at least 50 percent of the vote. On May 3, Ortiz Jones received 27.2 percent and Pablos received 16.6 percent, triggering the runoff.
Ortiz Jones will also be the first mayor to serve a four-year term after the city voted to change the term limits from four two-year terms to two four-year terms.
