The Starr County judge is still expecting to go head-to-head with his challenger in the November 2022 election following a dispute in court over where his challenger lived.

Incumbent county judge Eloy Vera, a Democrat, is facing a Republican rival – Maria Yvette Hernandez.

Vera questioned where Hernandez lives.

“On her Facebook page, she would claim that she lived in La Joya,” Vera said. “Of course she later erased it and changed it to say she resides in Rio Grande, but when she filed, she had that she lived in La Joya."

Judge Vera took the question to the 381st District Court and asked a judge to consider the claim that Hernandez lived outside the county.

Hernandez declined an interview – and only said to Channel Five News that she’d been living in Starr County for years.

The judge dismissed the case after Hernandez filed utility bills with the court that has an address in Rio Grande City.

The dismissal allows Hernandez to keep running for judge.

“I'm very confident that we're going to win very decisively,” Vera said. “So we'll just let the people decide."