Who will replace Granger in Congress? Voters to decide new legislator in Nov. 5 election

Voters will soon decide who they want to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, in Congress.

Their choices on the Nov. 5 ballot? Republican Craig Goldman and Democrat Trey Hunt. Both are vying to represent Texas’ 12th Congressional District, which covers western Tarrant County and most of Parker County.

This is the seat’s first open race since Granger’s election in 1996. She is retiring after nearly three decades of service in Congress.

Goldman is a six-term Texas House member, while Hunt is a My Health My Resources of Tarrant County homeless housing coordinator who previously ran against Granger in 2022. Both men are Fort Worth natives.

Hunt and Goldman did not respond to Fort Worth Report requests to comment.

Goldman clinched the Republican nomination after coming on top of a field of five candidates and winning a May runoff against businessman John O’Shea.

Hunt defeated Air Force veteran Sebastian Gehrig in the March primary to carry the Democratic mantle.

Goldman has campaigned on his record in the Texas Legislature, where he has been a top deputy to House Speaker Dade Phelan.

“I encourage you to go to my website, look at my record and look at what I’ve done. My entire adult life, I’ve identified a problem, I’ve come up with a solution. I’ve been able to do it at the Texas Legislature. I’m certainly going to do it as a member of the U. S. Congress, and I’d be honored to have your vote,” Goldman said during a primary election victory party on May 28.

Hunt wants to flip the ruby-red 12th Congressional District.

“Flipping Texas’s 12th District blue in 2024 is possible, but we need a winning strategy,” Hunt said in a September Facebook post. “We’re focusing on voter turnout, building coalitions, and fighting for healthcare, jobs, and reproductive rights.”

A top issue for Goldman is securing the U.S.-Mexico border. He has blamed President Joe Biden for a lack of attention and funds at the border. The federal government’s inaction, Goldman said, led the Legislature to approve $5 billion for border security in 2023.

“Because they have not been doing it, Texas had to step in and defend our borders. We shouldn’t have to spend over $5 billion defending our border, because that’s the federal government’s job,” Goldman previously said. “It’ll be the No. 1 thing that I focus on when I go up there.”

Hunt wants to secure the border and create a pathway to citizenship for people already in the U.S. after illegally crossing the border, according to his campaign website. 

“The approach to border security can be crafted in a way that upholds liberal principles of justice, fairness, and compassion while addressing legitimate security concerns,” Hunt wrote on his campaign website.

If elected, Hunt wants to write a women’s right to abortion into federal law and reinstate Roe v. Wade, which the U.S. Supreme Court overturned in 2022, according to his campaign website.

“Codifying Roe v. Wade at the federal level protects against potential rollbacks or challenges to abortion rights that may arise at the state level,” Hunt wrote on his campaign website. “This continuity ensures that access to abortion services remains consistent across the nation, preventing a patchwork of laws that could limit or eliminate these essential healthcare services in certain areas.”

During the primary, Goldman talked about his vote to ban abortion in Texas with few exceptions and his anti-abortion record in the Legislature.

“What I’ve said on record is, I would love, at the federal level, to not give it up to states’ rights, but to pass a heartbeat bill on the federal level,” Goldman said during a runoff debate in May, referring to a law that bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected. “Because we passed a law that we did in the state of Texas, tens of thousands of babies are alive today that otherwise would have been aborted.”

Goldman has the backing of Granger, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and nearly the entirety of Tarrant County’s Republican delegation to the Legislature.

Hunt faces an uphill battle to win the 12th Congressional District, which has not elected a Democrat since 1994.

Goldman has significantly outraised Hunt. Throughout the campaign, Goldman raised more than $2.7 million, while Hunt collected $24,143, according to finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Between July 1 and Sept. 30, Goldman raised $120,682 and spent $139,535. He has $170,996 in cash on hand heading into early voting, which kicks off Oct. 21. 

Hunt raised and spent a fraction of Goldman’s haul during the same time period. Hunt collected $1,932 and spent $2,374. He has $1,167 in leftover cash.

In 2022, Granger defeated Hunt, with 64.3% of the vote to his 35.7%.

In 2020, President Donald Trump won the 12th Congressional District by 18 percentage points.

Whomever voters back in the Nov. 5 election will become the sixth person to represent the 12th Congressional District since 1919.

Jacob Sanchez is a senior education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or @_jacob_sanchez. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.