Hardline Fort Worth Republican Rep. Nate Schatzline has dropped his bid to fill the state Senate seat vacated by Kelly Hancock and endorsed conservative activist Leigh Wambsganss, a new entrant in the race.
“My #1 goal was for SD9 to be represented by a true conservative, & with Leigh Wambsganss, that’s exactly what you’ll get,” Schatzline wrote on social media while announcing his reelection campaign to the Texas House. “She has my full support.”
Wambsganss, a former congressional staffer and longtime conservative activist on the Tarrant County GOP Executive Committee, won a crucial endorsement from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the powerful president of the Senate, just minutes after her campaign announcement. Wambsganss also spearheaded a PAC, Patriot Mobile Action, that led the charge to elect conservative candidates to several North Texas school boards in 2022, making national news.
“I have spent my entire adult life as a volunteer public servant, not for a title but out of conviction,” Wambsganss said in her announcement, emphasizing her advocacy on gun rights and anti-abortion issues. “My mission has always been clear: to defend conservative Christian family values, safeguard our freedoms, and ensure Texas remains a stronghold for faith, family, and freedom. I don’t need a paycheck to fight for what’s right — I’ve been doing it my whole life.”
Schatzline, one of the House’s most conservative members, had announced he was running for the Senate seat earlier last week. The district became vacant when Hancock, a North Richland Hills Republican, resigned from the Senate last week to take a senior position in the comptroller’s office, allowing him to become the agency’s interim head next week, when Comptroller Glenn Hegar steps down to become chancellor of the Texas A&M University System.
Gov. Greg Abbott has not yet called a special election to fill the North Texas seat, which covers about half of Fort Worth and much of Tarrant County’s conservative northern suburbs.
Shortly after vacating his Senate seat, Hancock launched his campaign to win a full term as comptroller in 2026.
A version of this story originally appeared in The Texas Tribune.
