Over the last several weeks, El Paso News has received several requests from readers asking if Brian Kennedy was running against Ricardo Samaniego in the upcoming 2026 elections. The questions have apparently been prompted by the campaign war chest Kennedy disclosed in his latest campaign finance reports and the appointment of a campaign treasurer.
On June 30, 2025, Kennedy filed paperwork appointed himself as his campaign’s campaign treasurer. Kennedy left the “office sought” field empty. The empty response allows Kennedy to hold campaign funds while giving him the opportunity to decide which office he wants to seek. Kennedy also reported on July 14, 2025 that he has $105,000 in campaign funds available to him.
In comparison, the incumbent Ricardo Samaniego reported $79,603.40 in campaign funds on his corrected report filed on July 26. Samaniego reported raising $88,072.52 in campaign contributions and spending $19,193.63 from January through June 30. Samaniego’s two largest contributors were Steve Ortega for $5,000 and Stanley Jobe for $6,000.
Samaniego’s largest expense was $7,855.11 paid to United Airlines for “travel outside of [the] district.” During the March 10, 2025 county commissioner’s meeting, Samaniego asked commissioners for permission to collect donations for travel to Taiwan. Commissioner Iliana Holguin asked who was offering the donations for Samaniego’s travel. County Attorney Christina Sanchez told commissioners it was the Taiwanese Council and the Borderplex Alliance who offered to help pay for his travel expenses. However, Samaniego’s campaign report does not show any contributions from the Borderplex or any entity called the Taiwanese Council.
Instead, in addition to Jobe and Ortega, 12 contributors made $2,500 contributions, including Woody Hunt, Frederick Francis, Steve Fox and Paul Foster. Several other contributions of $1,000 or more were also reported.
Dear reader, I hope you appreciate this article. Before reading more, I ask that you consider my work and make a small donation to help keep this publication open for everyone. El Paso lacks news diversity. I offer 20+ years of historical knowledge about El Paso’s politics and public policy. Media diversity matters. Make a small donation today to help keep my work going for another 20+ years. Thank you.
Samaniego held a fundraiser on April 9, signaling his intention to seek reelection. Subsequently he announced he was running for reelection.
Rumors had been circulating in early 2025 that Oscar Leeser would challenge Samaniego for his seat in 2026. In February, El Paso News conducted a survey of frequent voters to understand what a matchup between Leeser and Samaniego would look like. The results showed that Samaniego faces a difficult battle to keep his seat.
In June we reported that Oscar Leeser would not be running against Samaniego in 2026.
Nonetheless, Samaniego has recently been intensifying social media and news media outreach announcing public events that he is attending, signaling that his campaign sees a difficult path for Samaniego to keep his seat. Samaniego has faced several controversies including voting to give himself a raise, issuing non-voter approved certificates of obligation and missing a county commissioners’ meeting after police were called to an altercation after Samaniego’s girlfriend accused him of cheating.
Kennedy did not respond to several requests asking for comment about his intention to run against Samaniego.
However, among the rumors and questions about Kennedy’s plans for future office included several judge positions.
Other Office?
Among the potential offices that Kennedy is rumored to be seeking include County Court at Law No. 2 and No. 4. The judge for County Court at Law No. 2 is currently held by Julie Gonzalez, while No. 4 is held by Alex Gonzalez. Julie Gonzalez defeated Sara Priddy in the March 2022 primary. Alex Gonzalez ran unopposed in the 2022 primary.
Another office that Kennedy has been rumored to be considering is the 120th District Court currently held by Ben Ivey III. Ivey was appointed to the seat by Greg Abbott in February after Maria Salas-Mendoza vacated the seat to run for Chief Justice judge of the Texas Eighth District Court of Appeals.
The El Paso Elections Department lists Ivey as a Democrat. However, because he was appointed by a Republican governor to the seat, should he seek reelection, it is unknown if he will run as a Democrat or as a Republican.
There are several other judicial offices that will be in contention in 2026 as judges look to run for other open seats in 2026. As for the non-judicial seat currently held by Ricardo Samaniego, his campaign seems to be hoping that Samaniego does not draw an opponent with name recognition as that is the only path to victory the campaign sees for Samaniego staying in office.
Recent reports show that Samaniego’s campaign recently lost a key advisor, Lauren Zimmerman, when she accepted a position with the University Medical Center of El Paso (UMC). She accepted the position of Director of Development. Zimmerman organized Samaniego’s fund raiser. Her departure brings additional problems for Samaniego’s campaign.