Uvalde schoolchildren were massacred under a sheriff’s watch. He was still undefeated on Super Tuesday

For the past almost two years, a Texas county sheriff has refused to step down after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in 2022.

Instead, on Super Tuesday, Uvalde County sheriff Ruben Nolasco faced voters for the first time in the wake of the massacre.

And he won re-election with roughly 39 per cent of votes against three Republican challengers, according to preliminary results.

The sheriff has repeatedly rebuffed calls to resign or withdraw his candidacy for re-election despite overwhelming public pressure from victims’ families, demands that he face criminal charges, and a federal investigation that detailed a minute-by-minute timeline exposing “cascading” failures in the law enforcement response that day.

His name appears throughout the US Department of Justice report that determined he failed to create a command post or a unified command as hundreds officers waited an excruciating 77 minutes during the mass shooting before entering Robb Elementary School and taking down the18-year-old gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle.

“I’m proud of the work my staff and I have done, but we’re not done yet,” Mr Nolasco said in a statement last month. “I have created a solid foundation that I will continue to build on. I ask for your vote and continued support in my re-election campaign to continue building a more efficient and modern office.”

Uvalde County Constable Emmanuel Zamora, whose name also appears throughout the Justice Department report, also won a Republican primary on Tuesday with roughly 64 per cent of the votes, according to preliminary results.

Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco hugs Governor Greg Abbott in 2022.

Texas state senator Roland Gutierrez, whose district encompasses