Ft. Worth Republican Files for Newly Vacant Senate Seat

Fort Worth Republican Rep. Nate Schatzline on Wednesday announced that he is running to fill a Senate vacancy in a special election that Gov. Greg Abbott has not yet called.

Last week, Sen. Kelly Hancock, a Republican representing North Richmond Hills, resigned from his seat to take a senior job in the state comptroller’s office, preparing for Gov. Greg Abbott to name him interim comptroller of public accounts on July 1, when current Comptroller Glenn Hegar will step down to become the chancellor of Texas A&M University.

Hancock already has announced his intention to run for a full term as comptroller in next year’s election.

Abbott has not yet called a special election for Hancock’s vacant spot. As lawmakers prepare to return to Austin for a special session on July 21, his absence will only barely weaken his party’s firm grip on Senate policies.

Schatzline just finished serving in his second regular session, and already has made a name for himself as one of the most conservative House members, frequently wading into partisan culture war battles.

His campaign website touts his “instrumental” involvement in passing private school vouchers and mandating that the Ten Commandments be displayed in all public school classrooms in Texas.

“It’s clear that our state will only be as conservative to the extent we are willing to fight for it,” Schatzline wrote in his announcement. “As a senator, I will continue to show up to battle for Texans, standing firmly by the principles and promises I have made and kept.”

At 33, Schatzline is one of the Legislature’s youngest members. He also is emblematic of the deepening symbiosis between staunch conservatives and evangelical megachurches. Schatzline is a pastor at Mercy Culture Church, a Fort Worth megachurch that repeatedly has violated federal tax law by endorsing candidates for local and state offices since its founding in 2019.

Schatzline attended Southwestern Assemblies of God University for his undergraduate degree and earned a master’s degree in political science from Liberty University, the conservative Christian school in Washington, D.C. founded by televangelist Jerry Falwell Sr.

He founded For Liberty & Justice, an organization “dedicated to mobilizing the local church to see reformation in government,” according to his announcement, and serves on the board of a Mercy Culture Church initiative, The Justice Reform, that aims to build a shelter to support victims of human trafficking.

On his website, 25 House Republicans have endorsed him — more than a quarter of the caucus’s membership.