Both top officials want to defeat the Democrats, eventually. But first things first. They really want to get rid of some specific Republicans — the state lawmakers who have challenged the governor and AG the most this year.
As 2023 draws to a close, there's little doubt that the year in Texas politics will be remembered for its Republican in-fighting. That’s happening on a national level as well, thanks to the revolving speaker of the house door, but the Lone Star State GOP has outdone itself time and time again in '23 when it comes to internecine battles.
In May, the House overwhelmingly voted to impeach Paxton after its investigative committee detailed a good many alleged abuses of power and accusations of bribery. Over the summer, Paxton’s camp built a narrative that somehow Democrats had engineered his suspension and Senate impeachment trial by teaming with a bunch of “RINOs” (Republicans in Name Only), a group of lawmakers who were supposedly the liberal minions of Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Paxton adversary.
In September, Paxton’s Republican pals in the Senate cleared his name and put him back in the AG’s office. Paxton has since been brazen in his vocal opposition to Phelan and to plenty of other GOP legislators, including old pal and Collin County neighbor state Rep. Jeff Leach of Plano.
The Paxton plan of attack against his own party grew more intriguing recently when one of the attorneys who defended him during his impeachment trial, Mitch Little, announced he would run against Republican Kronda Thimesch for her North Texas seat in the House. In the months since Paxton’s trial, Little has seemed almost gleeful in his calling out Thimesch and other House members who voted to impeach the AG.
As if any extra spice were needed in this recipe, Little once worked for Thimesch’s campaign, and the two have long attended the same church in Carrollton. Sunday School politics can be brutal, we’re sure.
In early October, Paxton made North Texas an active battlefield when he endorsed primary challengers in Collin County: Chuck Branch (District 61), Wayne Richard (District 66), Abraham George (District 89) and Darren Meis, the man taking on Leach, a six-term representative, in District 67.
“Since about 2010, there has been an increase in what we call ‘getting primaried.’” – Kimi King, UNT political science professor
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According to conservative news website Texas Scorecard, Paxton attended an October event where the four Collin County challengers were introduced, and the AG told the crowd, “We’re going to clean house.”
A sitting governor or attorney general endorsing a candidate in a primary is not anything all that new, but to weaponize endorsements in this way is noteworthy. According to University of North Texas political science professor Kimi King, things have been headed this way for the top brass for some time.
“Since about 2010, there has been an increase in what we call ‘getting primaried,’” King said. “That means that you have a challenger who goes after an incumbent within their own party. So, if you’re Republican, you come at the incumbent from a more conservative perspective, and if you are a Democrat, you come after the incumbent from a left-leaning or more liberal perspective. So the rise of ‘getting primaried’ has contributed to a culture that is supportive of top-level officials making these kinds of statements.”
Abbott began making his threats publicly when it became patently obvious his so-called “education savings account” school voucher plan would continue to face hearty GOP opposition no matter how many special sessions he called. As far back as early October the governor began telling folks that he might “go after” Republicans who did not back his voucher plan.
Fast forward to this week, and Abbott is continuing to carry out his threats of incumbent opposition, but he’s got another GOP heavyweight adding his clout to the cause. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has also joined the Abbott side of the Republican civil war over school vouchers.
Cruz, a proponent of school voucher programs he often refers to as “school choice,” has never been shy about throwing his opinion into state politics, even when other U.S. senators often steer clear.
“My basic rule is, if you have supported school choice and you are otherwise relatively conservative, you’re quite likely to get my support,” Cruz said recently on the Chris Salcedo Show, a conservative radio program. “If on the other hand, you voted against choice, the odds of getting my support are zero. And I am very likely to endorse your primary opponent.”
As was the case with Paxton and Abbott, Cruz’s words, in this case at least, weren’t hollow. On Tuesday, Texas Tribune reporter Patrick Svitek wrote on X that Cruz has endorsed Mike Olcott in his race for House District 60 against incumbent Glenn Rogers.
Rogers, who represents parts of Palo Pinto and Parker counties, is a classic example of the type of small-town Republican who has always opposed sending public funds to private schools in just about any form. And he is a genuine conservative, not a “RINO,” as evidenced by his stances on abortion (against) and a number of other traditional Republican platform bullet points.
In a 2022 statement, he referred to voucher programs as a “slippery slope,” adding, “Under the guise of promoting choice, proposed ‘school voucher’ programs are a Trojan horse attempt to privatize Texas’ education system, and drain our already underfunded public education of necessary resources for millions of children.”
As for the governor, he took a slightly different approach. In late November, Abbott endorsed a number of Republican incumbents but none of the 21 GOP lawmakers who voted to block his prized voucher bill. The 58 Republicans he did endorse all supported his voucher plan.
On Tuesday, the fourth special session ended without any movement on an education bill incorporating vouchers. While we wait to see if a fifth special session will be called, one thing is for certain: What’s good for the governor is not always the same as what’s good for the incumbent. Still, Abbott's and Paxton's moves are low-risk for the state GOP, as their targets are in districts unlikely to be won by Democrats.
“If you are in a seat that generally is between 55–60% within control of your party in terms of the voters that turn out to vote,” King said, “you can afford to use these kinds of strategies because it’s a ‘safe seat.’”
