Following Four Price (R-Amarillo) announcing he would not seek reelection to the Texas State House, The Amarillo Pioneer has been speaking to insiders about potential candidates for the now open race. Here are the names speculated to be entering the race:

Potential Republican Candidates:

Announced:

At the time of writing, it does not appear any candidates have officially announced

Candidates who have expressed interest:

Craig Gaultiere: Gaultiere is the former owner of Roasters Coffee & Tea Company and a former member of the Randall County Commissioners’ Court. Gaultiere confirmed via text message that he is considering running for the seat.
Carter Estes: Estes is a City of Amarillo employee who currently serves as intergovernmental affairs liaison. Before working for the city, Estes was the campaign manager for Josh Winegarner, a lobbyist who ran in the 2020 congressional primary who was defeated by Ronny Jackson. Carter has confirmed to The Amarillo Pioneer he is considering a run.
Mike Yazbek: Yazbek is a former vice chair of the Potter County Republican Party and former Amarillo College Board candidate. He has publicly floated running for the seat on several occasions prior to Price’s announcement.

Other possible candidates:

Kevin Nelson: Kevin Nelson is former Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson’s husband and is currently Price’s campaign treasurer. Like his spouse, he has regularly been floated as a potential successor to Price.
Dan Rogers: Rogers is the chairman of the Potter County Republican Party. Rogers has gained nationwide notoriety for his support for paper ballots. Rogers is often floated as a potential candidate for numerous offices in recent years.
Kerry Symons: As the mayor of Perryton, Symons has earned praise for his response to a deadly tornado that hit the city last month.

Unlikely to run:

Cole Stanley: Following Stanley’s record-breaking landslide victory in the Amarillo mayoral election earlier this year, Stanley is likely planning to remain in City Hall instead of the Capitol Building, at least for now.
John Coffee: Coffee, a Potter County Commissioner, is up for re-election in 2024. While Coffee has remained as popular as any local elected official, he has made no indication that he is interested in heading to Austin.
Ginger Nelson: Ginger Nelson served as Mayor of Amarillo from 2017 until 2023. Nelson announced she would not seek reelection as mayor in late 2022 following the city’s loss against Fairly in the civic center lawsuit. She was also criticized for signing an open letter calling on Governor Greg Abbot to pass gun control measures. While Nelson’s name has frequently popped up in discussions about future legislative candidates in the area, sources say the ex-mayor is not planning to run in 2024. Still, the former mayor has made no public statements about her plans.

Declined to run:

Four Price: the incumbent state representative ruled out running for another term in office in a statement posted to his social media accounts on July 19.
Alex Fairly: Fairly is an Amarillo businessman who successfully sued the City of Amarillo to halt the issuance of tax anticipation notes to renovate the Amarillo Civic Center. Following a decision not to run for Mayor of Amarillo, a full Fairly-backed slate of candidates was elected to Amarillo City Council. A tweet from Patrick Svitek from the Texas Tribune states that “a source close to him expects he’ll play a role as either a candidate or backer.” Following that tweet, however, Fairly told Brad Johnson from The Texan he does not plan to run.
Thomas Warren: the current State Republican Executive Committeeman for Senate District 31 said he will not be a candidate for the seat, while saying that he will support a conservative improvement for the district.

House District 87 is one of the deepest red portions of the state. Because of this, most speculation about the race has been focused on the Republican Party primary. Price has not had a Democratic Party challenger since 2014. Abel Bosquez was the Democratic Party nominee for the seat in 2010, 2012, and 2014. Following Price’s victory in 2014, he was unopposed in the general until the 2022 election, when Libertarian Party nominee Nick Hearn ran.