Monica Alcántara took 52% of the vote against challenger Grace Rose Gonzales as of 12 a.m. Wednesday. The primary was contentious.
Alcántara first won the position in 2018, replacing controversial former chair Manuel Medina. She said a “small fraction” of the local party remains loyal to him, but she believes the perception that the party is fractured is mistaken.
“The party as a whole is united, and I think that's where the misconception is,” she said. “There's a small fraction that has broken off and, I'm willing to say, ‘Hey, come back. Be a part of the process. Let's all work together.’”
Alcántara has said she found evidence of financial impropriety from Medina’s tenure as chair, and she turned over documents to the FBI.
She said the close results of this race demonstrate the need for better messaging from the party amidst the negative news cycle that has followed the local democrats for years.
| FULL RESULTS: Bexar County 2020 Runoff Election |
“I know there's been so many different stories out there,” she said. “We need to do a better job of making sure that Bexar county knows exactly all the great work that the team has been putting out there — what we've been doing, and I'm sure what we’ll be better at getting that information and that messaging out.”
Grace Rose Gonzales did not respond to TPR’s request for comment on election night, but previously implied on The Source that Alcántara has broken rules.
“For me, going back to the rules is actually most paramount because people understand then what’s going on,” Gonzales said.
Alcántara said she’s made efforts to make the party’s operations more transparent, and that she hopes the party can come together ahead of the general election.
“We have a big job to do in November, and it's going to take all of us,” she said.
Dominic Anthony Walsh can be reached at Dominic@tpr.org and on Twitter at @_DominicAnthony.
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