Ballesteros wins constable runoff

AUSTIN (KXAN) - In what seems to have been one of the most vicious runoffs in Central Texas, Adan Ballesteros defeated challenger Michael Cargill by a 2-1 margin in the runoff Tuesday for Constable Precinct 2.

During the campaign, Cargill chided Ballesteros for being fired from the Department of Public Safety in the 1990s amid allegations he helped smuggle drugs over the border. In return, Ballesteros filed a defamation suit against  Cargill over  the online accusations of drug trafficking.

The race continued to get uglier as Ballesteros put up campaign signs that read: “Corrupt Candidate Cargill Arrested.”

The Ballesteros campaign posted a video to YouTube showing Cargill removing some of those signs, saying he he had every right to get rid of something so misleading.

In the primary, incumbent Ballesteros did not quite secure enough votes to move on. He had 46 percent, compared to Cargill with 28 percent.