Texas Election: What to know about 3 Republicans running for open Fort Worth area House seat
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2022 Texas primaries
Early voting begins Monday in Texas, with races for top county and state officials on the Republican and Democratic primary tickets.
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Republican voters will pick between three candidates bidding to represent an open Texas House of Representatives seat that covers much of north central Tarrant County.
The primary race has drawn contenders that may be familiar to voters in Tarrant County: Fort Worth city council member Cary Moon, former Southlake Mayor Laura Hill, and former pastor Nate Schatzline, who has been involved in the “critical race theory” debate.
The seat is held by Rep. Matt Krause, a Fort Worth Republican, who isn’t seeking reelection and is instead running for Tarrant County district attorney. The candidate who gets the most votes on Election Day — March 1 —will advance to thee general election where they’ll appear on the ballot with Democrat KC Chowdhury. The top two vote-getters will head to a runoff if a single person doesn’t get more than half the votes.
Throughout the course of the race, conversations about Moon’s 2020 DWI arrest resurfaced and allegations of residency violations involving Hill have been pressed by opponents.
The district, as redrawn during the latest legislative session, includes Blue Mound and Haslet, as well as part of Fort Worth and Saginaw.
Early voting starts Feb. 14 and runs through Feb. 25.
What are the priorities within the district?
The three candidates recently appeared virtually for an interview with the Star-Telegram’s editorial board, during which they outlined their priorities for the district.
Moon pointed to “the overreach of government on our civil liberties” when it comes to the right to assemble or the requirement to have employees be vaccinated. He also noted the education system and road infrastructure. Moon, who is secretary of the Regional Transportation Council, said he has experience of working with different jurisdictions to understated the financial mechanisms available to develop roads.
“There’s a value with that experience, and had a lot of success not just talking the talk but walking the walk,” he said.
Hill said problems related to roads and transportation that come with “explosive growth” need to be addressed, as well as the high tax rates for school districts that comes with growth. Hill said it’s also important to make sure students of different socioeconomic statuses are offered programs to prepare them for the future.
“We also have to take a look at the legislative end and talk about the percentage that the state is putting into education,’ she said. “There are opportunities, additional opportunities to get grant money for tech training, but we really take a look at that, because that’s specific to (House District) 93.”
Schatzline said his priority is education. He said the various school districts in the legislative district have different issues. In Fort Worth, he pointed to low reading rates. HD-93 is split between the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw, Keller, and Northwest school districts. A small part includes the Fort Worth school district.
“I think one of the things we’ve got to do is we’ve got to get in and have more transparency with with our parents,” he said. “We have to have more transparency with the curriculums that are being spoken.”
Schatzline has been vocal at school board meetings, speaking in opposition of the teaching of critical race theory in schools, although the academic theory is not taught in Fort Worth’s schools. He’s argued that structural racism is a relic of the past, and discussing it sows discord.
“I’ve led the charge inside of Fort Worth of trying to fight the indoctrination of our kids with leftist ideals,” he said. “This is a big deal to me because I feel like we’re spending so much time indoctrinating our students that we’re not actually educating our students.”
He noted a need to secure the border to address human trafficking and stop an influx of fetanyl. He also advocated for cutting property taxes and resisting mandates and the shutdown of small businesses.
Schatzline is the founder of For Liberty & Justice, an organization aims to promote “Godly candidates for local government,” according to its website and is the director of operations for The Justice Reform, an anti-human trafficking organization with ties to the Mercy Culture Church in Fort Worth.
Race marked by DWI arrest, residency question
Moon was reelected to District 4 in May 2021 following his October 2020 DWI arrest.. In June 2021, he pleaded no contest to driving while intoxicated and was sentenced to 18 months of probation. He is awaiting a court hearing on a motion to revoke his probation.
The city council member has discussed his legal troubles on the campaign trail during his bid for state House.
“It was definitely a personal failing,” Moon said. “I’ve apologized for it. There’s no excuse for it. What I will tell is that since that time and prior to that time I have an impeccable record serving the residents of Fort Worth.”
Hill’s opponents have accused her of not living in the district and filed complaints with the Tarrant County Republican Party seeking her removal from the ballot. Hill said she moved to an apartment there on Nov. 1. Qualifications for Texas House include living in the state for two years and the district for a year before the general election, which is on Nov. 8.
“I’m going to be working with legislators from all over the state, from the most rural, poor counties to the most urban liberal counties, and as a mayor, you learn how to pull people together,” she said.
Hill served as Southlake’s first woman mayor and served on city council before being elected to the position.
Who has the financial edge?
Moon is headed into the final stretch of the primary race with the most cash on hand: Nearly $112,100 compared to Hill’s more than $85,400 and Schatzline’s nearly $44,000. However, Moon and Hill have both taken out substantive loans to finance their campaigns, with Moon loaning himself $92,000 and Hill $100,000.
Moon reported $1,200 in contributions for the period covering Jan. 1-20, $1,000 of which was from a single donor, and $6,956 in expenditures. Hill received $22,036 in contributions and $63,660 in expenditures. Schatzline reported $11,912 in contributions and expenditures of $9,891.
Moon’s top donors since launching his campaign include several $2,500 donations from business’ of Moon’s. Moon has also since received a $5,000 contribution from Fort Worth Fire Fighters Assoc, Local 440.
Hill’s top donations include $25,000 from the Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC and $5,000 donations from Omni Hotels Owner Robert Rowling and Harlan Crow of Crow Family Holdings. She also recieved $1,000 from outgoing Tarrant County DA Sharen Wilson and about $12,600 from her husband Joseph McSweeny of Texas Ice Cream.
Schatzline has received about $3,116 from FaithNicHC, $1,500 from the owner of Haltom Thrift Store and more than $53,000 from his father, Patrick Schatzline, an author and evangelist.
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 5:30 AM.
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