In the primary race, Brown faced a number of challengers, including Sam Mohamad, Rodney Thomas, Roy Williams Jr. and Valdez, who previously served in the sheriff role from 2005-2017 before running for Texas governor.
No Republicans ran for the position.
What you need to know
In the March primary race, Brown received 48,427 votes, or 41.96%. Valdez received 43,587 votes, or 37.77%. Brown is the first Black sheriff of Dallas County, according to her campaign website. Valdez was the first Latina sheriff of the county.
Established in 1846, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department oversees the Lew Sterrett Justice Center, which has an average population of more than 6,000 inmates and more than 2,000 employees, according to the department’s website. In addition, the department has jurisdiction in all county areas.
What’s next?
Early voting for the runoff election will begin May 20 and run through May 24. The last day to apply to vote by mail in the election is May 17, and the last day to receive a ballot by mail is May 28 if the carrier envelope is not postmarked and May 29 if it is postmarked.
In-person voting for Dallas and Collin county residents can be done at any polling locations in a person’s respective county.
The general election will be held on Nov. 5.
