Unofficial results show former Denton County Republican Party Chair Brent Hagenbuch secured the Texas Senate District 30 seat for the GOP on Tuesday night, defeating Democratic challenger Dale Frey.
District 30 spans 11 counties, including portions of Denton, Collin, Parker and Wichita counties and all of Grayson and Cooke counties. It also covers most of the city of Denton.
Hagenbuch's lead continued as results poured in throughout the night, earning 66.1% of the vote and leaving Frey with 33.9%, based on unofficial results from the Texas Secretary of State's Office at 10:50 p.m. Tuesday.
Despite questions about Hagenbuch’s residency in the district, the Republican was able to raise about $3.1 million — nearly a million from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick alone. Hagenbuch also took out another $2 million in loans and spent about $4.4 million on his campaign. Gov. Greg Abbott donated $7,721.
Hagenbuch ran on the typical GOP platform of border security, limited gun regulations and anti-abortion measures. He also supports Abbott’s mission to establish school vouchers, a program that caused a $1.4 billion budget shortfall earlier this year in Arizona.
Frey, on the other hand, raised only about $6,900 and spent about $5,400 mostly from grassroots support, and he may have a potential lawsuit to file against Hagenbuch due to his residency issues, according to an Oct. 16 report by the Denton Record-Chronicle.
“Hagenbuch lives in a nice, beautiful lake house in Senate District 12,” Frey told the Record-Chronicle last month. “… He leased an apartment — a rundown, cheap apartment — in Senate District 30, and he claimed to have residency there.”
After seeing flaws in Texas’ health care system, Frey, who works as a web developer, told the Record-Chronicle he decided to seek office to advocate for a better system for people like his father-in-law, who was diagnosed with cancer, and to expand Medicaid.
He also advocated for better support of teachers and the public school system in Texas.
Frey and Hagenbuch were running to fill the spot vacated by Drew Springer, R-Muenster, who decided not to run for reelection.
In a November 2023 Texas Tribune report, Springer said he would be taking over his father’s business, Springer Financial Services, where he works as the senior director.
“This decision has been a deeply personal one, and I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all who have supported me throughout this journey,” Springer said in a statement, according to the Tribune.
