In Tarrant County, House District 93 is an open seat vacated by State Rep. Matt Krause (R–Haslet). Krause is currently a candidate for Tarrant County district attorney.
Either former Southlake Mayor Laura Hill or local activist Nate Schatzline will win the GOP nomination following the runoff election.
Laura Hill
Formerly the mayor of Southlake, a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, Hill is also a local business owner. Notably, as mayor of Southlake, Hill traveled to Austin to protest property tax relief, attempting to maintain local control on the issue as many local governments tax citizens out of their homes with ever-rising property taxes.
Based on the most recent campaign finance data, Hill has raised more than $400,000 for this runoff election and currently has less than $40,000 cash on hand. Establishment-aligned Texans for Lawsuit Reform has contributed more than $175,000 for Hill’s advertising and polling, along with the Associated Republicans of Texas, who contributed around $70,000 for campaign mailers. House Speaker Dade Phelan has funded nearly $37,000 in “polling and grassroots,” while the Texas REALTORS political action committee has spent more than $20,000 on Hill’s campaign. Additionally, Texans for Responsible Government—funded by Abbott mega-donor Michael Porter—has contributed $10,000 to Hill.
Hill has received the endorsements of establishment-aligned Texas Alliance for Life, Texans for Lawsuit Reform, Texas REALTORS, Associated Republicans of Texas, the National Federation of Independent Business – Texas, Texas Hospital Association, and Gov. Greg Abbott.
Nate Schatzline
A local activist, Schatzline is also a pastor, the founder of For Liberty & Justice—a church in government organization—-and the director of operations for The Justice Reform, an anti-human trafficking organization based out of Fort Worth, Texas.
According to the most recent campaign finance data from the Texas Ethics Commission, Schatzline has raised more than $300,000 with about $80,000 currently on hand. The Defend Texas Liberty PAC has contributed more than $165,000 to Schatzline’s campaign for various campaigning activities. Conservative Action for Texas has given $31,500 to Schatzline, and Texas Right to Life has also contributed $10,000. State Rep. Mayes Middleton (R–Wallisville) and local businessman Thomas Hardeman each contributed $10,000.
Schatzline has received the endorsements of Texas Right to Life, Texas Values Action, and the Texas Home School Coalition. He has also received the endorsement of multiple grassroots organizations such as the Tarrant County Republican Club PAC, DFW Conservative Voters, and the Keller Republican Club, as well as the recommendation of True Texas Project.
The Issues
Over the past several weeks, Texas Scorecard has questioned the runoff candidates on issues important to voters as they head to the polls.
Regarding Democrat committee chairmanships in the Texas House, Schatzline is on record as being against the practice, whereas Hill declined to respond to Texas Scorecard’s inquiry.
Both Hill and Schatzline agreed on extending the protections for girls’ sports to women’s collegiate athletics. Currently, women are forced to compete against men pretending to be women.
Property taxes are ever-increasing, and Schatzline proposes using the state surplus to pay down property taxes and eliminate them over time. Hill says she knows what it takes to provide property tax relief—cutting the tax rate and increasing the homestead exemption—and will do so in the Texas Capitol.
Regarding protecting parental rights in education by prohibiting the teaching of dangerous gender and sexual ideologies in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms, both Hill and Schatzline agree on banning such reprogramming.
Hill and Schatzline also support closing the loopholes in Texas obscenity laws to protect children from pornographic materials in their school libraries.
Regarding the southern border invasion, which has left Texas fending for itself in the absence of federal assistance, Hill and Schatzline agreed Texas must do whatever is necessary to protect its border and Texans.
Neither candidate responded to Texas Scorecard’s inquiry on ending corporate welfare (tax breaks and taxpayer-funded subsidies for large corporations).
But both candidates said they are against vaccine mandates and will work to prohibit them in the Legislature.
On the issue of abortion, if the U.S. Supreme Court does not overturn Roe v. Wade, both voiced their commitment to passing pro-life legislation that further protects innocent life.
Election Day
The winner of the Republican runoff will face Democrat K.C. Chowdhury in November. Election Day for the runoff is Tuesday, May 24. Early voting is ongoing this week.