Three Republicans contested the seat in the primary election. Tim Westley, a pastor of Shepherd's Vineyard Christian Church in San Antonio who carried the backing of the Tea Party movement, led the field with 13,153 votes (45.3 percent). He faced a runoff on May 24 with Ruben O. Villarreal, who received 9,131 votes (31.5 percent); the third-place candidate, Xavier Salinas, drew a critical 6,730 votes (23.2 percent). Villarreal is the mayor of Rio Grande City, a non-partisan position, in heavily Democratic Starr County.