The highly anticipated primary election runoffs in Texas are guaranteed to make waves Tuesday, as Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) look to finally shut the door on the political careers of a select group of vulnerable Republicans who have wronged them in the past year.
Abbott has taken aim this election cycle at the Republican incumbents who voted against his signature school voucher program. Paxton is targeting the Republicans who voted to impeach him.
Along with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), Abbott and Paxton targeted a slate of 16 Republican lawmakers who defied them, pouring money into their opponents’ campaigns and rallying with them in the weeks since.
The party leaders needed to unseat six of the 16 to turn the state House numbers in their favor on the school voucher vote. They were nearly successful the first time around, with five seats flipping and four more at risk in the runoffs Tuesday.
One of the most closely watched runoff races Tuesday will be in District 21, where House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) faces challenger David Covey, who has the endorsements of Paxton, Patrick and former President Trump.
Phelan led the impeachment effort against Paxton and has sought to keep Patrick’s allies from dominating the House as they have the Senate. He did not vote against Abbott’s vouchers program, and Abbott did not make an official endorsement in the race.
Phelan, after it was clear the March 5 primary race was headed to a runoff, described his battle against Covey as “the battle for the soul of our district.”
“This runoff is not just another race, it’s the frontline of the battle for the soul of our district,” he said in a statement at the time. “While my opponent hides behind empty rhetoric, dishonest advertising and surrogate voices, I stand before voters with a clear record of service and conservative success.”
