Money is flowing in to this Fort Worth area House race some hope to flip. Here’s why
The race for a key Tarrant County House seat is ramping up, as candidates shore up their war chests.
Early reports show the battle to replace retiring GOP Rep. Jonathan Stickland in Texas House District 92 — which has been represented by Republicans for decades — has drawn nearly $200,000 from donors.
“This is a critical election year, and District 92 really shows what the stakes are statewide,” said Jim Riddlesperger, a political science professor at TCU.
Democrat Jeff Whitfield, an attorney, has the most money on hand — nearly $121,000, which includes a $15,000 personal loan — according to the most recent campaign finance reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission that show fundraising tallies through the end of 2019.
Fellow Democrat Steve Riddell, who narrowly lost to Stickland in 2018, lags behind with $19,000 in the bank.
On the Republican side, former Bedford Mayor Jim Griffin has more than $54,000 in cash on hand, which includes a $50,000 personal loan.
Fellow Republican Jeff Cason, a former Bedford city councilman, has around $1,300 in the bank after he loaned himself $5,000. And small business owner Taylor Gillig has $815 on hand.
Republicans say they are not worried about the fundraising totals so far.
“We have a three-way race and the money is being divided between the candidates,” said Rick Barnes, who heads the Tarrant County Republican Party. “I feel certain that whoever surfaces as the winner in the primary, the other two will get behind him and that will open the door for fundraising in the general election.”
HD 92 is one of five Tarrant House seats where Democrats hope to make inroads, potentially helping their party flip the majority in the House along the way. Their hope stems from Beto O’Rourke, who lost his overall bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, but beat Cruz in the county by 4,308 votes.
“Yes, the Republicans still have won all of the statewide contests,” Riddlesperger said. “Yes, the Republicans still control both chambers of the Legislature.
“But the gap between the parties has been narrowing, and that gives Democrats, who have had no success in Texas in a generation, reason to hope.”
At stake in this race 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.
Tarrant seat
The majority party in the House next year will play a key role in redistricting, which is why districts across the state are being targeted by both parties.
Republicans hope to hold on to their majority, and make it grow, while Democrats hope to reclaim a majority in the lower chamber. The last time they held the majority there was in 2001.
The battle for HD 92 ramped up last 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.
Stickland won this seat in 2018 with less than 50% of the vote. He has long maintained that he did little campaigning because he was busy trying to help Republicans across the state win their own elections.
His margin of victory dropped every year since he was first elected in 2012 with 80% of the vote. After that, it was 63% in 2014 and 55% in 2016, state election records show.
“Democrats see the trend — margins have narrowed in each of the last two cycles — so just a little more movement toward the Democrats might flip that seat,” Riddlesperger said. “And if that seat can be flipped, might the Democrats have enough votes to flip eight seats across the state and take control of the House just in time for redistricting following the 2020 census?”
Texas politics
Most recently, Swing Left, a national progressive grassroots group, added this district to the list of 11 Texas House seats it is targeting.
“Defeating Trump is not the only thing on the line this November: grassroots organizers and volunteers around the country are fighting to win key state legislature races that could set up a decade of progressive victories by ensuring a fair redistricting process in 2021,” according to a statement by the group.
All but two of the group’s Texas targets are represented by Republicans. Overall, the group is targeting nearly 140 legislative seats across 10 states.
Barnes said he’s not surprised this district — and others — are being targeted by Democrats.
“It shows the importance of the Texas state election,” he said. “Redistricting makes this a very important year for everybody.”
The deadline to register to vote is Feb. 3.
Early voting runs Feb. 18-28. And the election is March 3.
