Minerva Torres Shelton

Army sergeant, El Paso police officer and FBI supervisory special agent, and the Republican nominee for El Paso County Judge, Texas. Aged 58 in 2026, she describes herself as a moderate Republican. She is the Republican candidate for El Paso County Judge in the 3 November 2026 election, against Democratic incumbent Ricardo Samaniego.

Career

Torres Shelton served as a U.S. Army military intelligence sergeant, then as an El Paso police officer for five years and an FBI agent for 21 years, as a supervisory special agent in field offices including Sacramento, Seattle and El Paso and at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. Her work covered juvenile human trafficking, counterterrorism, fraud and fugitive operations. She holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of New Mexico and a master's in political science from American Military University. On 3 March 2026 she won the Republican primary with 62 percent against Guadalupe Giner's 37 percent.

Positions

She calls herself a moderate Republican who favours limited, accountable government, fiscal responsibility, public safety and individual responsibility. Her three stated priorities are a line-by-line review of the budget, public safety and infrastructure, and more transparent government with greater community engagement.

Summarised automatically from the linked sources. Lufkin Daily News · KFOX14