In Frio County, Texas, a suspended county judge facing multiple felony election-fraud charges has decided to seek reelection—not after exoneration, not after trial, but while under indictment and barred from office without pay.
The decision is legally permissible, but the implications are far more troubling.
On Dec. 5, Rochelle Lozano Camacho filed paperwork to run again for Frio County judge.
The filing came just days before the state’s Dec. 8 primary deadline and months before her next court appearance, scheduled for March 12, 2026—nine days after Texas primary voters cast their ballots.
Camacho is currently suspended from office by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct following her May 2025 arrest in one of the most expansive vote-harvesting prosecutions in recent Texas history.
According to indictments returned by a Frio County grand jury, Camacho faces three felony counts of vote harvesting, stemming from a two-year investigation led by the office of Ken Paxton.
The suspension order is unambiguous.
Camacho is barred from exercising judicial authority and is receiving no compensation until her criminal case is resolved, dismissed, or reconsidered by the commission.
Yet under Texas election law, suspension does not prohibit a candidate from seeking reelection. Camacho has chosen to exploit that gap.
Hellbound and Down 