GOP runoff pits 2 similar Republicans in race for North Texas Senate seat (2024)

AUSTIN — In the Republican primary runoff election, two candidates are vying for a state Senate seat in a conservative-leaning North Texas district that has a population base in Denton County.

Candidates Brent Hagenbuch and Jace Yarbrough have served in the armed forces and both attended Stanford University, but they have shown little camaraderie heading toward the May 28 election.

Yarbrough wants Hagenbuch tossed from the ballot, alleging on the campaign trail and in a lawsuit that the perceived front-runner does not live in District 30. Hagenbuch has called Yarbrough a “smooth talker” who wants to be a career politician.

It’s been a bruising campaign.

Hagenbuch, the owner of a Denton-based trucking company, calls his effort a “résumé and references” campaign that boasts backing from many of the state’s top Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and the district’s current senator, Drew Springer. Those seals of approval, plus the endorsem*nt of former President Donald Trump, make Hagenbuch the presumed front-runner.

“My background lines up very well to be a successful state senator, and I’m very confident we’re going to win this,” Hagenbuch, 64, said in a recent interview.

Yarbrough, 37, said he is running a “grassroots, scrappy, young campaign” in a district that spans 11 counties and includes parts of the cities of Denton and Frisco.

“We’re out and among good folks,” Yarbrough said in an interview. “We are being helped by so many good people across the district.”

In the March Republican primary, Hagenbuch topped Yarbrough by about 2,400 votes, with 36.4% of the vote to Yarbrough’s 33.9% in a four-candidate race. Because neither received at least 50%, they are facing off in the runoff.

The winner gets the Republican nomination and, in a district that voted for Trump over President Joe Biden by 22 percentage points in 2020, would be highly favored to succeed Springer, R-Muenster, who is retiring after two terms.

Both candidates said their top issue is the surge in illegal immigration into Texas. Both support Operation Lone Star, Abbott’s border security effort, but Hagenbuch has attacked Yarbrough over what he characterizes as lackluster support for Abbott’s busing of immigrants to Democratic-run cities outside of Texas.

In recent forums and radio appearances, Yarbrough said he credits the busing program for shifting the conversation on immigration but called it untenable. Texas taxpayers have spent more than $124 million on the program, which has sent more than 115,000 migrants to New York, Chicago, Washington, Denver, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

“Seeding illegals throughout our country is not a long-term, viable solution,” Yarbrough said. “My position is that now the only place they should go is back home if they’re in our country illegally.”

Yarbrough, a lawyer who has sued the government multiple times to promote conservative causes, argues he is the only GOP candidate eligible for the office.

The two candidates have been locked in a court battle over Hagenbuch’s eligibility after public records indicated Hagenbuch was registered to vote outside of Senate District 30. He has a homestead exemption at a Little Elm home outside of the district.

Hagenbuch was sued in multiple courts by Yarbrough and former candidate Dr. Carrie de Moor. An appeals court dismissed Yarbrough’s suit, and de Moor’s challenge was unsuccessful in removing Hagenbuch from the ballot before the GOP primary.

The lawsuit remains active, and Yarbrough has filed to intervene. Hagenbuch called it a dead issue.

“We’ve provided documents in court,” Hagenbuch said. “They’ve all been gone over already showing documentation, voter registration documentation all proving that it was in good shape.”

Documents included a $4-a-year lease indicating Hagenbuch rented space in his company’s Denton office as a residence. He has since leased an apartment across the street.

Beyond spats over character, little separates Yarbrough and Hagenbuch on issues at the forefront of Republican politics. Both support eliminating property taxes but offer little in the way of achieving a goal that the lieutenant governor has said is unrealistic. Both also favor Abbott’s school choice plan, which would let some parents use taxpayer dollars for private school tuition.

Neither had much to say about Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, who is locked in a runoff for his seat.

Hagenbuch has had the financial advantage. He loaned his campaign $1.2 million, which he has been spending on campaign mailers, television ads and legal expenses, according to campaign finance reports.

Yarbrough also is self-funding. He loaned his campaign $200,000. He has had more individual donors than Hagenbuch.

There isn’t a clear picture of either candidate’s campaign finances since the March primary because of filing deadlines.

Early voting begins May 20. Voters who cast ballots in the March Democratic primary cannot vote in the GOP runoff.