UVALDE, Texas – Find more election coverage on the Vote 2024 page.
Voters in Uvalde County will decide the political fate of some of the same officials who responded to the May 24, 2022, massacre at Robb Elementary School.
The shooting — the deadliest to happen at a school in Texas — claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers while officers waited 77 minutes to confront the gunman inside two adjoining classrooms.
The botched response was a campaign topic for some of the candidates during the Texas Primary in March, and now, some of those candidates are on the ballot for the November election — and most are running unopposed.
State Representative District 80
Don McLaughlin Jr., who was the mayor of Uvalde when the shooting happened, is running against Cecilia Castellano, a Democrat, for the Texas House District 80 seat.
McLaughlin resigned as the city’s leader in the summer of 2023 to run for the Texas House following the retirement announcement of incumbent state Rep. Tracy King, a conservative Democrat who held the seat since 2005.
McLaughlin had served as the mayor since 2014.
The district includes Uvalde, Pleasanton, Poteet, Crystal City, Carrizo Springs and Pearsall.
Castellano is the president and CEO of a construction company in Somerset.
Uvalde County Sheriff
Sheriff Ruben Nolasco is running for a second term after first being elected in 2021. The Republican candidate is also running unopposed.
In the March primary, Nolasco edged his challenger, Otto Armin, in a runoff.
Nolasco was one of the first responders present at Robb Elementary. He was also named several times in the Department of Justice and Customs and Border Protection report into the mass shooting.
In the CBP report, authorities said Nolasco was one leader who did not give direction to responding officers.
In the DOJ report, authorities said police officials “demonstrated no urgency” in their response to the killings.
“Sheriff (Ruben) Nolasco did not seek out or establish a command post, establish unified command, share the intelligence he learned from both relatives, nor did he assign an intelligence officer to gather intelligence on the subject,” the DOJ report stated. “At one point, Sheriff Nolasco and UPD Acting Chief (Mariano) Pargas were within 10–15 feet of each other outside the exterior door of the northwest hallway; however, they were not coordinating with one another and continued to act independently.”
The report also stated that Nolasco’s “training records revealed that he did not have any active shooter or ICS (Incident Command System) training and had minimal leadership/supervision training.”
Since the shooting, Nolasco and sheriff’s office personnel have attended ALERRT Level 1 training, the report states. He has also taken “some” ICS classes, the report states.
Constable Precinct 1
Max Dorflinger is running unopposed in the race for Precinct 1 Constable. Dorflinger shared on social media he’s been in law enforcement for nearly 20 years. Currently, he’s a detective with the Uvalde Police Department and has served 15 years with the sheriff’s office.
Dorflinger responded to the Robb Elementary shooting and also appeared at the SWTJC candidate forum on Feb. 13 ahead of the primary, but left before being asked any questions.
Constable Precinct 6
Emmanuel Zamora, the current Precinct 6 Constable, is running unopposed for re-election.
Zamora previously worked for the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy. Like many others seeking re-election, Zamora responded to the Robb shooting, was called out in the DOJ report, and left before answering questions at the SWTJC candidate forum.
In the DOJ report, Zamora was one of the agency leaders highlighted for inaction in the response to the shooting.
In naming Zamora and Nolasco, the report said no leader “effectively questioned the decisions and lack of urgency” of Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo, the incident commander.
District Attorney, 38th Judicial District
Incumbent DA Christina Mitchell is the only candidate running for the District Attorney, 38th Judicial District (Uvalde and Real County) seat.
The embattled district attorney has faced harsh criticism in her handling of the Robb Elementary shooting investigation.
Earlier this year, Mitchell convened a grand jury that called officers who responded that day to testify.
So far, former Uvalde CISD officer Adrian Gonzales has been indicted on 29 counts of abandoning/endangering a child, while Arredondo faces 10 counts of abandoning/endangering a child.
Both have pleaded not guilty.
