The newly redrawn open seat in House District 73 encompasses Comal County and part of Hays County. It is being vacated by incumbent State Rep. Kyle Biedermann (R–Fredericksburg).
Former New Braunfels Mayor Barron Casteel and nonprofit executive Carrie Isaac will face off in the May 24 runoff election.
Barron Casteel
A lawyer, former New Braunfels mayor, and son of previous HD 73 State Rep. Carter Casteel, Barron is active in local politics and returned to his family’s law practice, Casteel & Casteel, following his tenure as mayor.
According to data from Transparency USA, Casteel has raised more than $346,000 and currently has less than $35,000 cash on hand. His largest donor is the Protect and Serve Texas political action committee ($20,886), followed by Republican donors John and Anne Weisman ($20,000), the Texas REALTORS PAC ($14,998), local donor Westley Studdard ($12,500), and the establishment-aligned Texans for Responsible Government PAC ($10,000).
Casteel has received the endorsements of the Texas REALTORS PAC, the Texans for Responsible Government PAC, establishment-aligned Texas Alliance for Life, Gov. Greg Abbott, and many local officials. The American Federation of Teachers, a teachers union, also endorsed Casteel.
Carrie Isaac
Current executive director of DEWIT, a veterans assistance organization, Isaac is also a community activist who has served on multiple community boards for food assistance programs. Isaac is also the wife of former State Rep. Jason Isaac, who served HD 45 from 2010 to 2018.
Based on data from Transparency USA, Isaac has raised less than $250,000 and currently has less than $20,000 cash on hand. Republican donors Lyssa and Robert Hank Seale III are tied with State Rep. Mayes Middleton for Isaac’s largest donors at $45,000 each. Additionally, Republican donors Don and Gwyn Sparks ($25,000), Chester Davis ($13,000), and Kyle and Jamie Stallings ($10,000) round out Isaac’s top five.
Isaac has received the endorsements of Texas Right to Life, Texas Values Action, Texas Home School Coalition, Young Conservatives of Texas, Gun Owners of America, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, former Texas GOP Chairman Allen West, and a multitude of other elected officials and local leaders.
The Issues
For the past several weeks, Texas Scorecard has asked runoff candidates questions on hot-topic issues voters care about as they head to the polls. Notably, Barron Casteel never responded to any of Texas Scorecard’s inquiries.
On the issue of ending Democrat committee chairs in the Republican-majority Texas House, Isaac supports ending the practice.
Regarding extending the protections for girls’ sports to women’s collegiate athletics to prevent men pretending to be women from competing in women’s athletics, Isaac supports the protections.
Isaac supports property tax relief, with plans to use excess state revenue to buy down school maintenance and operation taxes, which are the largest portion of the property tax bill on every homeowner’s kitchen table.
Protecting parental rights in education by preventing kindergarten through third-grade students from being taught harmful gender ideologies is an issue Isaac supports.
The border crisis is an invasion, and Isaac supports Texas’ work to secure the border despite pressure from the left.
Closing the loopholes in Texas obscenity laws that allow for pornographic books in children’s schools is something Isaac is in favor of accomplishing.
Isaac supports ending corporate welfare in Texas, stating, “Not only have handouts brought woke companies to Texas, but the property tax exemptions and credits for wind and solar have eroded our electric reliability while increasing costs.”
Regarding vaccine mandates, Isaac opposes them, having signed the Texans for Vaccine Pledge to prohibit vaccine mandates in Texas.
Election Day
The winner of the Republican runoff will face Democrat Justin Calhoun in November. Election Day for the runoff is Tuesday, May 24. Early voting is ongoing this week.
