Republicans Pick Nominees for Val Verde County Races, Nettleton to Face Owens Jr.

Republican voters in Val Verde County turned out March 3, 2026, to select party nominees for local offices, producing a mix of unopposed nominations and contested races; county-level returns were summarized and published on March 5, 2026. “Owens will face the Republican Party nominee, former Val Verde County Commissioner Pct. 3 Robert Beau Nettleton, in the November General Election.”

Democratic incumbents on the Val Verde County Commissioners Court held their ground in the primary. “Three incumbents on the Val Verde County Commissioners Court posted decisive victories over their challengers in Tuesday’s Democratic Party Primary Election.” The incumbents listed as winning their party nominations were Owens Jr.; County Commissioner Precinct 2 Juan Carlos Vazquez; and County Commissioner Precinct 4 Gustavo “Gus” Flores, who “defeated challengers for the Democratic Party nominations to their respective offices.”

Election-night administration and timing were handled at the Val Verde County Courthouse. “Many of the contestants waited outside the Val Verde County Courthouse after the polls closed at 7 p.m. Rose Hernandez, Val Verde County Democratic Party chair; Sharon Pettit, the Val Verde County Republican Party chair; County Clerk Teresa Esther Chapoy; and Cynthia Reyes, Chapoy’s elections clerk, emerged from the courthouse to announce the results about 9:45 p.m.” Those officials provided the night’s public tallying and announcements; the county clerk’s office is listed as assisting party-run primaries rather than running them directly.

A local candidate roster published ahead of or alongside the primary included contested and labeled entries across commissioners and justice of the peace posts. The roster named: * Juan Carlos Vazquez – County Commissioner Pct. 2 (Incumbent) (D); * Rose Castro – County Commissioner Pct. 2 (D); * Gustavo Flores – County Commissioner Pct. 4 (D); * Generosa Ramon – County Commissioner Pct. 4 (D); * Robert “Bobby” Hernandez – Justice of the Peace Pct. 2 (D); Arellano – Justice of the Peace Pct. 3 (D); * Rey Robles – County Commissioner Pct. 2 (R); * Tony Rodriquez – County Commissioner Pct. 2 (R); Wardlaw – County Commissioner Pct. 4 (R); * Christian Martinez – Justice of the Peace Pct. 1 (R); * Mario Bosquez – Justice of the Peace Pct. 1 (R); Randel Dissler – Justice of the Peace Pct. 2 (R); * Ashly Vicuna – Justice of the Peace Pct. 3 (R). The roster includes asterisks next to several names; the meaning of the asterisk was not defined in the material reviewed.

County procedure around primaries is framed by party control of the process; the official procedural text notes: “Primary elections will be conducted by the Chairpersons of the political parties. The County Clerk's office will only ASSIST the parties in conducting their” — the sentence is presented truncated in the available materials. Officials also noted that the March 5 county-level summary followed the March 3 vote, but detailed vote totals, precinct-by-precinct margins, and some personal identifiers remain absent from public summaries released so far. With nominees set, the named Republicans and Democrats will advance toward the November general election, where the contest between Robert Beau Nettleton and Owens Jr. will be one of the local races shaping Val Verde County’s commissioners court and countywide offices.