After months of uncertainty, several state House races in Tarrant County began to take shape Wednesday after a San Antonio court proposed a new map redrawing the state’s 150 state House races.
Under the new map, Tarrant County looks identical to the version passed by the Republican-led Legislature last year. Most candidates filed last year under a different court-drawn map that was later tossed out by the US Supreme Court.
Filing is expected to reopen soon and candidates will have a chance to switch races or withdraw.
Already Wednesday, most local candidates were making their intentions clear. Here’s a look at where the 11 House races in Tarrant County stand as of now:
State Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, faces a primary challenge from Fort Worth school board trustee Carlos Vasquez.
District 91
At least four Republicans will battle for this open seat to replace state Rep. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, who is running for state senate. Five candidates originally filed for the primary. State Rep. Barbara Nash, R-Arlington, and Pat Carlson of Fort Worth said they will run in District 93 instead. Former Tarrant County Republican Party Chair Stephanie Klick had filed for the District 101 seat when an earlier map had put it in northwest Tarrant County. Under the current map, Klick said she will join the race for District 91. Three candidates that had previously filed for the seat say they are still in the race: Former North Richland Hills Councilman Ken Sapp, former North Richland Hills Mayor Charles Scoma and Lady Theresa Thombs of North Richland Hills.
District 92
State Rep. Todd Smith, R-Euless, has said he is thinking of running for state senate but otherwise will run for re-election. Jonathan Stickland of Euless has challenged Smith in the primary.
District 93
Matt Krause of Fort Worth was the only Republican to file for this seat. He will now be joined by at least two other candidates in the primary: Nash and Carlson. Nash is the incumbent but the district changes dramatically under the new map. Nash now represents parts of Arlington, Grand Prairie and Mansfield. Under the new map, the district will hold on to part of north Arlington but gain parts of north and northeast Fort Worth.
Democratic interest in the district was based on an earlier map that had the district centered in southeast Arlington. Under the new map, that district now most closely resembles District 101 (see below).
District 94
State Rep. Diane Patrick, R-Arlington, has said she is running for re-election and is currently unopposed.
District 95
State Rep. Marc Veasey confirmed this week he is running for a new Congressional seat. Two Democrats and a Republican had filed to replace him. Democrats Nicole Collier and Dulani "Jamal Jones" Masimini confirmed Wednesday they are still in the race. Republican Derek Cooper also filed for the seat but could not be reached Wednesday.
District 96
State Rep. Bill Zedler, R-Arlington, is facing a primary challenge from former Mansfield Councilman and current school Police Chief Mike Leyman.
District 97
The open race to replace state Rep. Mark Shelton, R-Fort Worth, who is running for state senate, initially drew two Fort Worth Republicans: Craig Goldman and Susan Todd. Former Fort Worth school trustee Chris Hatch recently joined the race too.
District 98
State Rep. Vicki Truitt, R-Keller, is in a rematch against Republican Giovanni Capriglione of Southlake, who previously tried to unseat her in 2010.
District 99
State Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, is currently unopposed in his bid for re-election.
District 101
This district has been moved into Tarrant County due to population growth. The Legislature drew it last year as a Democratic-leaning district in southeast Arlington and Grand Prairie. A court-drawn map moved the district to northwest Tarrant County prompting two Republicans, Klick and Eagle Mountain-Saginaw school board president Dick Elkins, to file for the seat. Klick has now moved to the District 91 race. Elkins has ended his bid for the Legislature, according to a spokesperson.
With the district back as the Legislature had intended, two former state House members, Chris Turner and Paula Pierson, both Democrats, confirmed they are switching to that race after having originally filed in District 93. A third Democrat, Vickie Barnett, had filed for District 93 but did not immediately return a request for comment.
-Aman Batheja
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