AUSTIN — The fight for an open North Texas Senate seat will pit veteran officeholders against a political newcomer who catapulted into the spotlight for defying coronavirus orders.
Rep. Drew Springer, who has already raked in at least 30 endorsements from fellow GOP lawmakers, including the man he seeks to replace, will face Denton Mayor Chris Watts and salon owner Shelley Luther, who was briefly jailed after refusing to close her business amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
Rounding out the six-candidate race is business owner Craig Carter of Nocona and software engineer Andy Hopper of Decatur, both of whom are running as Republicans. Jacob Minter, an electrician from Anna, is the lone Democrat.
A tight timeline for the special election gives the candidates just four weeks to campaign, a big leg up for the veteran politician who already represents portions of the solidly red district.
Gov. Greg Abbott set the election this week for Sept. 29 with early voting scheduled to begin Sept. 14.
He said the speedy turnaround is needed so that Senate District 30 has representation when the next legislative session begins in January.
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The winner will succeed outgoing state Sen. Pat Fallon, who is replacing Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe as the GOP nominee on the ballot for Texas’ 4th Congressional District. He plans to vacate the Senate seat on Jan. 4.
Special elections typically generate low turnout. With Luther on the ballot, the outcome could help gauge GOP voters’ response to coronavirus restrictions. She became a flash point earlier this year in the debate over how to restart the economy safely.
Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas, said he’s not sure highlighting defiance of the COVID-19 orders is a winning strategy.
“There are a lot of people out there that are skeptical of the coronavirus and the response, but they are not the majority in the state and they are not the majority in the Republican party,” he said.
The Republican-leaning district wraps around Dallas-Fort Worth to the northwest and includes the cities of Sherman, Wichita Falls and a portion of Denton.
Annette Barfield, chairwoman of Wichita County Republican Party, said it’s too soon to know where voters stand.
“I am sure that most of the voters in Wichita County, or a large portion of them, would support what (Luther) did and admire her for what she did, but at the same time Drew Springer has a history in the Legislature that many people here would support,” she said.
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Springer, a four-term representative from Muenster, is emphasizing that history and his ties to the community on the campaign trail.
“What drove me to run for it is the familiarity and the common shared values,” he said.
A financial planner who chairs the House committee on agriculture and livestock, Springer is also touting his legislative experience as a benefit in an upcoming session where lawmakers will face budget shortfalls and a redrawing of Congressional and legislative districts.
Luther, who lives in Pilot Point and owns Salon à la Mode, is running primarily on the issue of government overreach. She has repeatedly criticized Abbott’s COVID-19 orders that have closed certain businesses in an effort to slow the virus’s spread as going too far.
“I didn’t want to be one of those people that just complained about things and not do anything about it,” she said.
Watts, an attorney, resigned as the mayor of Denton this week. He has held the post since 2014.
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State Rep. Drew Springer, Shelley Luther among six candidates for North Texas Senate seat - The Dallas Morning News
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