AUSTIN, Texas —
In Texas, many of the general election races are not competitive, meaning the primary elections on Tuesday take on extra importance. Often, the candidate who wins in March wins in November.
One of the contests that could be decided on Super Tuesday is the Travis County District Attorney's race.
Supporters for both incumbent José Garza and challenger Jeremy Sylestine were out trying to sway voters on Monday.
Garza and campaign volunteers pointed out disruptions from this weekend's "get out the vote" event. They said a group of armed bikers followed and harassed volunteers as they were trying to talk to voters.
Campaign volunteers Iris Suddaby and Eli Melendez described what happened.
"My partner and I were followed by seven people [who] were trying to disrupt these conversations. Our concern wasn't just us – it was also the householder, so we knew we kind of had to lose them," Suddaby said.
“Many had guns. Many had knives. And, you know, they were obviously trying to intimidate us. We were just out there trying to talk to voters, spread information. And, obviously, they had very different tactics,” Melendez said.
Forty-five minutes later, at a separate press conference, a group of crime victims and victims' loved ones came out against Garza. Political action committee Save Austin Now gathered the group.
The group talked about their experiences with the district attorney, saying Garza did not pursue tougher penalties in their cases.
Nick Cantor lost his brother in the mass shooting on Sixth Street in 2021.
“I can't tell you as a victim how revictimized that makes me and my family feel to have had the false bill of goods sold to us, that we were going to get justice, and then it pulled away,” Cantor said.
Conny Branham’s son, Christopher, was murdered in 2020.
“My son was jumped, robbed, very brutally assaulted and murdered on June 24, 2020, by a group of five. That assault is on video. After the robbery and assault, two of them drove him to Manor and shot him in the middle of a cornfield … The police put together a rock-solid case and all five were arrested and indicted, two for capital murder and three for aggravated robbery. One was a juvenile," Branham said. "In May 2021, DA Garza gave the juvenile, who was on video stomping on my unconscious son's head, a plea deal for less than one year."
When asked about the issue, Garza said each crime victim deserves empathy and he is committed to working with them to seek justice.
St. Edward’s University professor of political science Brian Smith said the Republican candidate, Daniel Betts, does not have much of a shot in November.