Owens, Vazquez, Flores Win Democratic Nominations; Arellano Wins JP-3

Incumbent Lewis G. Owens Jr. held the Val Verde County Democratic nomination for county judge, defeating former Del Rio Mayor Bruno J. Lozano 1,998 votes to 1,139, a margin of 859 votes; Owens will face Republican Robert Beau Nettleton in the November general election. The March 3 primary result cements Owens’s path to a rematch-style fall campaign against Nettleton, who previously served as Val Verde County Commissioner Precinct 3.

Juan Carlos Vazquez secured the Democratic nomination for County Commissioner Precinct 2 and offered a post-election statement: “I’m super excited. I want to thank all of my supporters. I also wanted to thank the people that didn’t support me; they listened, and everyone made a choice. I’m looking forward to keeping Precinct 2, Del Rio and Val Verde County moving forward. I’m here for the people, so I’m really excited.” Vote totals for Vazquez’s primary were not reported in the material provided; his November opponent will be Rey Robles, listed as retired.

Gustavo “Gus” Flores won the Democratic nomination for County Commissioner Precinct 4, defeating Generosa “Janie” Ramon, a former Val Verde County clerk, by a 564-384 vote count, a 180-vote margin. Flores will face Republican challenger John I. Wardlaw, described as a schoolteacher, in the November general election.

Loida S. Arellano captured the Democratic nomination for Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 with 437 votes to Juan Roberto Martinez’s 329, a 108-vote margin; Arellano’s occupation is listed as funeral director while Martinez is identified as a sales manager at Harbor Freight Tools. Arellano will meet Republican Ashly Vicuna, chief deputy for Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 Pat Cole, on the November ballot.

Inside party contests produced a clear result as well: Rose Hernandez was re-elected Val Verde County Democratic Party chair with 1,837 votes to challenger Abril Hernandez’s 821 votes. The chair race totals were reported alongside the primary results that determined the county’s Fall general-election Democratic nominees.

All four Democratic primary winners named above advance to the November general election matchups: Owens vs. Robert Beau Nettleton for county judge; Vazquez vs. Rey Robles for commissioner Precinct 2; Flores vs. John I. Wardlaw for commissioner Precinct 4; and Arellano vs. Ashly Vicuna for JP-3. County election certification and any precinct-level turnout figures were not included in the reported totals; verifying certified results with the Val Verde County elections office will confirm final margins and percentages before campaigns shift into the general-election period.