Northwest ISD trustee drops out of Republican primary for North Texas House seat
A Northwest school district trustee is exiting the race for a North Texas state House district, he announced Monday.
Steve Sprowls, who has served on the board since 2017, was one of two candidates running for House District 93 in the Republican primary. He was set to face Fort Worth City Council Member Alan Blaylock.
House District 93 is currently represented by Rep. Nate Schatzline, a Fort Worth Republican who isn’t seeking reelection, after being invited to join the National Faith Advisory Board. The House district includes Blue Mound and Haslet, as well as portions of Fort Worth and Saginaw.
Sprowls, a former board president, has criticized Schatzline for not adequately supporting public education while in Austin.
In a Facebook post announcing that he is withdrawing from the House race, Sprowls wrote that “for the last four years, Texas House District 93 has suffered from a representative in Austin who was more concerned with self-interest than service.”
Sprowls said he was running to fight for stronger schools, lower taxes, better infrastructure and economic growth.
“I’ve been laser focused on this mission because I wanted our community to elect new leadership,” Sprowls said. “The threat of continuing down the same path was too great to ignore. But the dynamics of this race have shifted, and that threat no longer exists. Our family motto is, ‘Serve a purpose greater than yourself,’ and it’s become clear that my purpose currently exists closer to home. Therefore, I am suspending my campaign for Texas House.”
Sprowls thanked his supporters in the statement.
“I know this may be disappointing, but I am not going away,” he said. “I will continue to serve our community, fight for our values, and work to deliver real results for our families.”
In an interview late Monday, Sprowls said that he’d entered the race prepared to challenge Schatzline for the House seat, but the race shifted when Blaylock emerged as his opponent instead. Sprowls tried to feel out the new scene and stay optimistic, he said.
“It just became obvious that I was going to struggle to get the votes that I needed in March,” Sprowls said.
Senior operations analyst Ericka Lomick from Fort Worth is running in the Democratic primary. Since Blaylock is now running unopposed, the candidates will face off in the Nov. 3 general election.
Tarrant County GOP Chair Tim Davis said in a Jan. 8 Facebook post that Sprowls had filed a challenge to Blaylock’s candidacy, but the challenge was denied. Sprowls sued, and an appellate court dismissed the lawsuit, siding with the county party, Davis said.
In the challenge, Sprowls raised legal concerns about Blaylock serving on the city council while also running for state office, according to court documents. He described the challenge as a “political opportunity” and said he opted to not take the matter to the Texas Supreme Court, as it would likely reach the same conclusion as the lower court. The outcome of the challenge was a contributing factor in his exit, Sprowls said.
Blaylock remains on the city council for the time being, but a special election is expected to pick a successor, who will finish out the remainder of his term. The Texas Secretary of State’s office has previously said that a special election to fill Blaylock’s city council seat could come as soon as May 2.
.Sprowls said he met with Blaylock to let him know he was leaving the House race before announcing the exit publically.
‘”He’s done well as a city councilman,” Sprowls said. “I think he will do well. I just hope that he listens to the constituents. ... That’s the reason I got into the race, is to put the represent back in representative. If he’s just going down there to get a conservative score, then the constituents are going to be ignored again.”
As for his next steps, Sprowls hasn’t decided whether he’ll run for reelection to his school board seat. His term ends this year.
“We’ve got a good thing going, and I love serving the district,” he said. “It’s just that, can I do something more, something else? Because I’ve been doing it nine years now. Am I getting too comfortable? Do I need a challenge somewhere else? That’s what I need to figure out.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
This story was originally published January 12, 2026 at 6:58 PM.
