Watch this Fort Worth area race. It could help decide which party controls Texas House
House District 92 is in the spotlight.
Not only have Tarrant Democrats targeted this district, but now at least three Republicans are in the race to replace the retiring Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford.
“This district has been growing steadily more Democratic in the past decade, making it a very flippable district for 2020 if the Democrats nominate a strong candidate,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. “Suburban Texas has been and will be the battleground where party control of the Legislature is won and lost.
“This district is smack in the center of that fight and will be competitive for both parties in 2020.”
The battle for the seat ramped up earlier this year when Stickland, long known as a firebrand and political bomb thrower, announced he wasn’t seeking re-election to the post he has held since 2013. “It is not the Lord’s will,” he said.
Democrat Steve Riddell, who claimed 47.43% of the vote to Stickland’s 49.8% in 2018, was already in the race. He recently was joined by fellow Democrat Jeff Whitfield, an attorney and veteran.
And at least three Republicans: former Bedford City Councilman Jeff Cason, small business owner and veteran Taylor Gillig and former Bedford Mayor Jim Griffin.
“That district should be a reliably Republican district, but like much of Northeast Tarrant County, that district is changing,” said Jim Riddlesperger, a political science professor at TCU. “While suburban areas were traditionally strongholds for Republicans, in the Trump Era, they have become much more competitive.
“Stickland’s thin margin of victory (in) 2018 should make any Republican candidate aware that a Democrat could be competitive,” he said. “Obviously, the Republican candidates think that Stickland himself might be the reason that the race was so competitive in 2018 and that a less polarizing candidate in the Republican Party will have an advantage.”
This comes at a time when Republicans across the state hope to hold on to their slim majority in the Texas House — or make it grow. Democrats, meanwhile, hope to make enough gains to claim the majority or at least make it close enough that bipartisanship will be key in the next legislative session.
At stake in House District 92 is a two-year term that pays $7,200 a year. This district includes Hurst, Bedford and parts of Arlington, Fort Worth and Grand Prairie.
Dec. 9 is the last day candidates can file for spots on the 2020 ballot.
Republican candidates
Cason, a former Bedford city councilman, said he’s in the race “to put Texas back on a conservative path and ensure conservative representation” for the district.
“I am the only candidate with a proven track record of fighting for taxpayers,” the 66-year-old sales manager said. “I won’t let government grow.”
Cason said he knows there will be a fight to keep this district red. “Democrats are going to throw everything they have at this district, but we feel confident that, with our hard work, this district will stay in Republican hands.”
Gillig, 31, is a combat veteran and small business owner who said his experience makes him the best candidate.
“Our community is becoming more partisan in every election cycle,” said Gillig, a first-time political candidate who once served as a policy analyst for state Sen. Charles Perry. “We need candidates to start articulating their beliefs and principles to a broader range of people. ... I am running to help bridge the growing divide.”
Gillig said he realizes Democrats will try to flip the district, but he believes the district will stay in Republican control “so long as we engage every community with our conservative message.”
Griffin, 62, said he’s in the race to listen to voters and help lower property taxes.
“Texas has the third highest property taxes in the nation,” he said when asked why he’s running for this post. “Most of our local property taxes come from public education because the state has taken a smaller share of the burden over the years.
“Now, the high tax rates are exacerbated by the rapidly increasing appraisals. The state must step up and take a bigger role in education spending to help out local taxpayers. This is one of the most important problems for Texas to solve.”
The Democrat
Tarrant Democrats said this district is one of five they are targeting in 2020.
They believe they can make inroads in Tarrant, since Democrat Beto O’Rourke — who lost his overall bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz last year — beat Cruz in the county by 3,869 votes.
And they want to start with House District 92.
Riddell, who unsuccessfully challenged Stickland last year, said he’s running again because he saw neighbors and friends ignored for years by their representative.
“That’s not democracy,” said Riddell, 49, who works in payment processing and credit card fraud prevention. “Partisan bickering isn’t working for us. We just want solutions that make sense. I’ll work hard to deliver them.”
More than that, Riddell said he’s the best candidate in the race because he’s not locked in to any specific ideology.
“Our nation is pulling itself apart over party ideology,” he said, “and our representative is part of the problem.”
Whitfield, the latest to formally file for the race in recent days, said he has several goals: strengthen the economy, lock in funding for public education and expand access to affordable healthcare.
“As a military officer, community servant, and lawyer, I’ve spent a lifetime fighting for others. I’m honored to dedicate that experience to fighting in the Legislature for the folks here,” he said.
“I learned growing up in this community that we should help others and work to make things better for us all,” he added. “We’re Texans. We’re in this together. I’ll take those values to Austin and fight to ensure reason and decency are not ignored.”
