Voters in about a third of Richardson will choose a state representative on Nov. 3, as longtime Republican Rep. Angie Chen Button defends her Texas House District 112 seat against Democratic challenger Zach Herbert.
The district sits in northeast Dallas County. Under the current House map, it takes in roughly 40,600 Richardson residents along with parts of Dallas, Garland, Rowlett and Sachse and all of Sunnyvale, according to Texas Legislative Council population data from the 2020 census. NBC 5 reported this week that the contest is drawing attention in the region.
The incumbent
Button has held the seat since 2009, according to Ballotpedia. In the March 3 Republican primary she won 71.7% of the vote against three challengers: Chad Carnahan, Perry Barker Sr. and Tina Price.
Her campaign website pitches her as "people before politics," saying she has built a record of working with members of both parties on public education, health care access and funding for local law enforcement. The site says she passed a law aimed at more equity among Texas school districts, raised school funding and put full funding behind the teacher retirement system.
It also credits her with holding down unemployment insurance rates for small businesses after COVID-19 struck and with expanding funding for cancer screenings, mammograms and maternal health care for lower-income women.
The challenger
Herbert, a personal injury trial lawyer who served in the Marines from 2010 through 2013, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and drew 18,765 votes, according to Ballotpedia.
In a Ballotpedia candidate survey he described himself as a "solutions-over-partisanship candidate" and said he wants to bring his courtroom work against "powerful insurance companies and corporations" to Austin. His campaign site lists higher teacher pay, Pre-K for all Texans, Medicaid expansion and a minimum wage raised to "a livable wage."
He also says the Legislature should not preempt decisions made by local communities, supports reproductive health care decisions resting with women, and backs the right to bear arms alongside what he calls "common-sense gun safety measures."