AUSTIN — State Rep. Nate Schatzline, R-Fort Worth, declared his candidacy for incoming comptroller Kelly Hancock’s vacant Senate seat.
Gov. Greg Abbott will call a special election for voters in Tarrant County’s Senate District 9 to choose a new senator to serve until Hancock’s term ends in January 2027. The winner will likely use the victory as a springboard to seek a full four-year term.
Taylor Rehmet, a union machinist and Air Force veteran who describes himself as “a working-class fighter,” is seeking the office as a Democrat.
Schatzline, a two-term House member, emerged as a likely candidate after Hancock resigned the Senate seat June 19 to become the designated interim replacement for departing Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar, who leaves July 1 to become chancellor of the Texas A&M University System.
“I’m going to be a conservative warrior in the Senate, just like I was in the House,” Schatzline told the Report shortly after his mid-day announcement.
Schatzline, buoyed by a list of endorsements from House colleagues and Tarrant County Republican officials, is the first Republican to enter the contest.
Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at the University of Houston, described District 9 as a “pretty conservative district” dominated by Republicans, but said recent demographic and political changes in Tarrant County could provide an opening for Democrats.
Hancock, a businessman who lives in North Richland Hills, had held the Senate seat since 2013 after serving six years as a House member.
“It’s a 60-40 Republican district,” Schatzline said in a cell phone interview. “No matter who jumps into the race, I plan on going full steam with all the passion and work ethic that I have. I think it’s going to be a great challenge to run and, ultimately, I have no idea how it’s going to shape up, but I do know that I feel called to run for this seat.”
The Senate race, he said, offers “an incredible opportunity to continue fighting for our faith and family and freedom and all the values that I have on an even grander scale. “
Schatzline, 33, is a former pastor and the founder of For Liberty & Justice, an organization that is dedicated to mobilizing the local church to see reformation in government, according to his House biography. He serves as the director of operations for The Justice Reform, an anti-human trafficking organization based out of Fort Worth.
Schatzline lives in the Alliance area of north Fort Worth with his wife, Adrienne, and their three children.
Elected to House District 93 in 2022, Schatzline took office in January 2023. He was one of three votes for Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, in the 2023 speaker’s race against then-Speaker Dade Phelan.
As a senator, Schatzline said, he would “fight for the priorities of the Texas GOP as well as the needs of Senate District 9” to make Texas “the most-pro business state in America.” His priorities, he said, will continue to focus on cutting property taxes and “fighting for the next generation.”
He said he has “an amazing relationship” with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the presiding officer of the Senate, and hopes to secure his endorsement. He said he also has a “great relationship” with the governor.
Schatzline is looking forward to the upcoming special legislative session called by Abbott beginning July 21 after advancing “premier conservative priorities” during the recently ended regular session, he said.
His legislative successes, he said, include increasing penalties for human trafficking, allowing public school employees to pray at work, and making the adoption process more transparent.
“We’ve been praying about this for months now,” Schatzline said, “and so I’m not entirely sure when my mind was completely made up, but we felt like today was the right time to release our announcement.”
Rehmet, 32, who announced his candidacy June 23, said his campaign will center on a five-point platform including veterans’ rights and services, workers’ rights and union power, affordable housing and tenant protections, fully funded education with vocational pathways, and land and water for future generations.
Rehmet is president of the Texas State Council of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. A campaign launch event will be next month in Austin, coinciding with a statewide labor convention, according to a news release.
He was in the Air Force from 2012 to 2016 as a mechanic on B-52 bombers.
Rehmet told the Report he’s been active in running large organizations but said this is his first political undertaking.
“This is just the next step in being able to serve others,” he told the Report. “I’ve never run before because I wanted to make sure I’m ready. I take serving others seriously.”
In 2022, Hancock won his last four-year term with more than 60% of the vote to Democrat Gwenn Burud’s almost 40%.
Dave Montgomery is an Austin-based freelance reporter for the Fort Worth Report.
The Fort Worth Report’s Texas legislative coverage is supported by Kelly Hart.
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