AUSTIN, Texas — The marquee matchup between incumbent José Garza and challenger Jeremy Sylestine for Travis County District Attorney is over.
Garza will move on to face Republican candidate Daniel Betts in November after defeating Sylestine during the Texas primary election.
"This is a significant victory for our progressive moment in Travis County," Garza told KVUE's Tony Plohetski. "It sends a resounding message that voters in Travis County reject the politics of fearmongering. That this community is a compassionate community that follows the facts and evidence ... and they want to keep that progress moving forward."
While Sylestine was defeated by a larger margin than he anticipated, he said the fight for the DA's office would continue.
"We understand where the voters stand and what this race has been about," Sylestine said. "I'm a defensive attorney by trade, so I will continue to fight against the DA's office and sharpen their prosecutors with my own experience."
Sylestine also said he hopes Garza reaches out to hear his viewpoints since people believed enough in him to submit him as a candidate for the DA's office.
Garza defeated incumbent District Attorney Margaret Moore during the July 2020 runoff to secure the Democratic nomination before being elected that November.
Garza, a Texas native, was born in Laredo and raised in San Antonio. Garza moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas before getting his law degree from Catholic University in Washington, D.C.
He then returned to Texas to work as an assistant public defender on the border, where he says he saw firsthand how people of color and immigrant families were treated by the criminal justice system.