The two remaining candidates for 168th District Court judge took very different paths to their matchup in the May 26 Democratic runoff.
Bernardo Cruz knocked on voters’ doors, raised campaign contributions, sent mailers to thousands of homes, lined up endorsements and attended multiple campaign forums ahead of the March 3 primary election. Enrique Holguin made no effort to ask voters for support, didn’t answer media questions, and went to no campaign events.
Holguin wound up in first place in the three-candidate primary, winning 37% of votes. Cruz won 34% and Robert Perez finished with 29%. Because no candidate received more than half the votes cast, the top two finishers are meeting in the May 26 runoff, with early voting May 18-22.
Both runoff candidates agree that voters should take into account Holguin’s disappearance from the primary campaign as they assess the candidates in the runoff. Holguin said he sat out the primary campaign because a potential employer – who wound up not hiring him – was worried about losing someone who would leave for another job within a year because he won an election.
ELECTION 2026 VOTER GUIDE: Everything you need to know about the May 26 primary runoffs in El Paso
“I think that’s valid, because even colleagues were like, ‘Hey, man, well, what happened?’” Holguin said of him appearing on the ballot but not campaigning. “I didn’t have a job, and the jobs that were prospects were scared away.”
Cruz said, “I think it’s very important for voters to know, ‘Why did this person throw their name in? Why is this person running?’”
He said he ran because he viewed the judgeship as an important public trust, and he wanted to make himself available to voters as they made their decisions.
“From the first moment I thought of whether to run, I took it extremely seriously, because I know how important this position is,” Cruz said.
Holguin said his wife, attorney Michelle Martinez, suggested he run for a judgeship in November, after he was fired by the Trump administration from his job as an immigration judge.
“And I was like, “No, crazy. I don’t even have a job. You know, like, running for office is expensive,’” Holguin said.
But he thought about it more and decided to run because he had experience as a municipal judge and immigration judge. He and his wife looked at judgeships on the Democratic primary ballot and decided on the 168th District Court race because Cruz was the only candidate at that point, Holguin said.
Cruz had filed his candidacy on Nov. 8, the first day candidates could formally apply for a position on the March 3 primary ballot. Holguin filed on Dec. 4. Perez filed on Dec. 8, two hours before the deadline.
Holguin said he decided not to campaign because he thought it would make him more attractive to the potential employer, who he wouldn’t identify. He was hired as an assistant city attorney in February, and said he was surprised by his first place finish in the primary. He could have withdrawn from the runoff, but decided to campaign for the office.
The winner of the Democratic runoff will take over as judge of the 168th District Court on Jan. 1, 2027, because there is no Republican candidate. The incumbent, Marcos Lizarraga, didn’t seek re-election and was defeated in the Democratic primary race for County Court at Law No. 4.
District judges are paid at least $193,000 a year, and serve four-year terms.
Meet the candidates
Both Holguin and Cruz are licensed attorneys in Texas, which is a requirement to be a district judge in Texas.
Holguin, 44, is a graduate of Jefferson High School, the University of Texas at El Paso and Texas Wesleyan School of Law. He has experience as a prosecutor, a defense attorney, municipal court judge and federal immigration judge. He currently is an El Paso assistant city attorney, a job he’s held since February.
He was appointed as an immigration judge, a position that’s part of the U.S. Department of Justice, in November 2023 by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland. He was fired by the Trump administration in November 2025 without explanation, one of more than 100 immigration judges removed in President Donald Trump’s first year in office as he moved to put his stamp on immigration enforcement.
He said his variety of experience, including as a prosecutor, makes him the best choice for the 168th District Court runoff. He said he has far more trial experience than Cruz.
“I’ve done that as a prosecutor. My first handful of trials was as a prosecutor. I’ve done it as a defense attorney. I’ve picked a jury, I’ve cross examined, I’ve done closing arguments,” Holguin said.
Cruz, 38, is a graduate of Cathedral High School, UTEP and Seattle University law school. He has experience as a civil rights attorney for farmworkers in Washington state and for the American Civil Liberties Union. He has been an assistant El Paso County attorney since 2023.
Holguin has not yet submitted any reports of political donations since he was inactive in the primary campaign. He said he has raised some money, which will be reported to the Texas Ethics Commission on the next filing date, which is Monday, May 18. Holguin declined to identify any significant endorsements he has received.
Cruz raised more than $39,000 during the primary campaign, and loaned his campaign $16,000. He has been endorsed by several legal and political leaders, including County Attorney Christina Sanchez, former County Attorney JoAnne Bernal, former District Attorney Jaime Esparza, and former County Commissioner Carlos Leon.
He said his experience representing farmworkers, immigrants and county taxpayers in often complex cases makes him the best candidate in the runoff. He said his role as assistant county attorney is especially important.
“I am specifically there trying to identify areas where there’s maybe systemic issues, there are one-off issues, potential bad actors, that in the normal scope of the law your prosecutor, district attorney and what not,” Cruz said. “That is my job, to try to identify some place where the county can help its residents, can help itself as an agency, but in the benefit of its public.”
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