Five candidates have filed for the Sept. 28 special election to fill the seat of former state Rep. Leo Pacheco, D-San Antonio, according to the secretary of state’s office.

The deadline was 5 p.m. Monday.

Pacheco gave up his seat in House District 118 last month to take a job at San Antonio College. The district is friendly territory for Democrats, though Republicans have set their sights on it as they try to make South Texas a new battleground in 2022.

The candidates who filed include three Democrats and two Republicans. They are:

  • Democrat Katie Farias, a member of the Southside Independent School District Board of Managers
  • Republican John Lujan, former HD-118 representative
  • Democrat Desi Martinez, prominent trial attorney
  • Democrat Frank Ramirez, former zoning and planning director for the city of San Antonio
  • Republican Adam Salyer, the 2020 GOP nominee for the seat

Early voting for the special election starts in a week.

This article was written by PATRICK SVITEK of The Texas Tribune.  The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.  This article originally appeared at: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/13/texas-special-election-san-antonio-house/