Incumbent, former lawmaker fight in GOP primary for Hill Country House seat

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Voting is underway in the three-person race to decide which Republican is best to represent the Hill Country in the Texas House of Representatives.

State Rep. Ellen Troxclair, R-Lakeway, is hoping to hang onto her seat in the sprawling Texas House District 19, which spans west of Austin and includes Burnet and Fredericksburg. However, some of the votes she took last year unearthed a challenger in Kyle Biedermann, a retired state representative who’s now attempting a political comeback.

Manny Campos, a third Republican candidate, also jumped into the primary but was unavailable for an interview at the time this story was published.

Voter Guide: What to know for the March 2024 primary elections

On the first day of the early voting period, Troxclair held an event at a Bee Cave restaurant and brought in Gov. Greg Abbott to fire up supporters. The two Republicans even went to vote early together at Bee Cave City Hall. The governor is putting his political weight behind Troxclair and other Republican candidates, making numerous campaign stops across the state for those who support his ongoing push to let families use public dollars to pay for private education.

“I’m trying to advocate for all of the Republican primary voters in those districts, and all of those districts is well over 80% of those voters who voted in favor of school choice in the last primary,” Abbott told reporters Tuesday after he voted. “They deserve to have a voice fighting for them in Austin, Texas, and my goal is to win as many of those as possible so those voters, their decision will matter when it comes to the next session.”

Troxclair said she’d keep pushing for school choice if voters send her back to the Capitol.

“We have such great schools in House District 19, but unfortunately, that is not true for so many children across Texas who are trapped in failing school districts, especially low-income kids,” Troxclair said Tuesday. “We can’t keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. We have got to make sure that we the taxpayers and leaders are doing what is required of us to get those children to a place where they’re set up to succeed in life.”

Troxclair is like other Republican lawmakers in Texas whose vote last year to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton unearthed a primary challenger. In her case, it’s from Kyle Biedermann. He said that vote along with her previous support of House Speaker Dade Phelan made him decide to come out of retirement and attempt a political comeback.

“I couldn’t sit home and let somebody part of the Austin swamp that lives in Austin represent not only me, but my constituents,” Biedermann said Monday. “It’s a duty, and I really care about my constituents.”

Brian Smith, a political science professor at St. Edward’s University in Austin, said turnout in a primary like this one will be low and mostly driven by very conservative voters. He expects that to impact Troxclair’s reelection bid more than the other candidates.

“That’s going to hurt Troxclair because her opponents are running not to the center, but to the right of her,” Smith said. “So for her to win, she needs to get Republicans and that little bit of independents and maybe crossover Democrats, especially if the candidates to her right are able to really get that hardcore, no-RINO vote.”

Biedermann previously served for six years in the Texas House but retired from his seat in 2022 to focus on family and his hardware store businesses. During this campaign, though, he said he’d like to focus on water, density and growth issues in the Hill Country. He also supports what Abbott is doing at the border to deal with an increase in migrants crossing illegally into the country.

However, Biedermann said state leaders could have done more in the past. He suggested his past support of a Texas independence movement could have led to the creation of a plan that resulted in better security along the border.

“I’m proud of Gov. Abbott for being strong on that issue at the border now, but we could have been planning for this because the invasion has been happening for many, many years,” he said. “We could have been planning for this, but that’s the government for you. They don’t look long-term. Everything’s short term to the next election.”

During Tuesday’s rally, Troxclair touted her support for Abbott’s latest border security initiatives, like busing migrants, placing buoys in the Rio Grande and stationing National Guard soldiers throughout the area. She even accompanied the governor to Eagle Pass earlier this month alongside other Republican incumbents he endorsed.

Ahead of the primary, she secured a lot of endorsements from the state’s major Republican leaders, including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz this week. Biedermann said this proves he’s more of the outsider in this race, which he argues may benefit him during this election.

“I’m not part of the Austin establishment,” Biedermann said. “I never was, and I’m sure the Austin establishment doesn’t want me back, but the people do. That’s how I won all my elections by the people because I never had the establishment.”

However, Troxclair said Biedermann’s past legislative experience makes him more of the insider.

“The reality is he’s been in office six times longer than I have. I’ve been there one year,” Troxclair told KXAN. “He’s a career politician…who doesn’t have any results to show for it.”

It’s now up to the voters of House District 19 to decide which Republican they think is best to take on the issues important to them and represent the Hill Country.

On the Democratic side, voters do have a choice to make there, too. There are two candidates — Dwain Handley and Zach Vance — vying to become their party’s nominee.

The early voting period for the Texas primary lasts from Tuesday through March 1. Election Day is March 5.

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