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Media coverage of the Texas state legislative Republican primaries, 2018

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2018 Texas
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GeneralNovember 6, 2018
PrimaryMarch 6, 2018
Primary RunoffMay 22, 2018
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The Republican primary elections for the seats in the Texas State Senate and Texas House of Representatives were on March 6, 2018, and the Republican primary runoff elections were on May 22, 2018.

This page provides an overview of media reactions to the Texas state legislative Republican primaries.[1] Selected articles are presented as a jumping-off point for deeper exploration of media coverage and as an overview of narratives that have emerged surrounding the elections. Media responses are divided into three broad categories:

  • Party politics: Articles that discussed the internal conflicts within the Republican Party over issues like taxes, spending levels, and bathroom bills.
  • Coalition-building: Articles that discussed who major players in the state, such as Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick (R), and influential interest groups supported in the primaries.
  • The candidates: Articles that discussed the dynamics between candidates in the races.

Coverage of the Texas state legislative Republican primaries generally focused on the conflict between moderate Republicans like Speaker Joe Straus (R) and conservative Republicans like members of the Texas Freedom Caucus. On October 25, 2017, Straus announced that he would not seek re-election in 2018.[2] Before his retirement announcement, a group called the New Leadership PAC formed in opposition to him continuing as speaker.

In 2017, the Straus-aligned Republicans tended to support increased spending levels for public education and opposed legislation that would have required individuals to use bathrooms that correspond with their biological sex. Conservative Republicans supported the bathroom bill opposed by Straus. They also endorsed legislation that would have required voter approval for increases in some local property taxes and put caps on local government spending.


Party politics

  • Chris Tomlinson, Houston Chronicle (January 19, 2018)
"Not enough people, especially business people, are getting involved in the most important election in Texas: the one that happens in March, not November. The Republican and Democratic primaries will take place on March 6, with early voting to begin Feb. 20. In a polarized, one-party state like Texas, the most important vote anyone can cast is in the Republican primary, at least until Texas Democrats prove they can compete statewide. Unfortunately, voter apathy has allowed a small band of extremists to control the Republican primary, and the result has been bad for business.
'It was easy and convenient to make an assumption that if the Republican Party nominated somebody, that was a pro-business person, and we could all just vote one time in the general election,' said Jeff Moseley, CEO of the Texas Association of Business. 'We know now those days are gone.'
Whether it's eliminating property tax breaks for capital investments, slashing public education, underfunding transportation or heedlessly pandering to social conservatives on LGBT rights, Moseley said business leaders are not making their voices heard when it matters the most, and some Republicans feel free to ignore them. 'The last legislative session demonstrated that the Republican majority really has strong anti-business winds blowing within the majority,' he added. 'There is real value in alerting the Texas business community about the value of going to the primary.'
Speaker Joe Straus, whom business leaders consider a hero for blocking the anti-transgender bathroom bill and stopping the repeal of a key economic incentive program, said business leaders finally stepped up during the 2017 special session. But they need to do more.
'I think there is evidence that a very small, committed group of ideologues can have more influence than they deserve," Straus, who is retiring, told me in an interview. "Some want to keep the primary turnout as low as possible so that they can control the outcome. But I want more voices to be heard, particularly from the business community, but also from other Texans.'
...
'A lot of Republicans are not making their voices heard where it means the most,' Straus said. 'There is no doubt that the conversation in our primaries is too often unbalanced in favor of social issues. The message I get from the business community is that we need to focus more on the challenges that directly relate to the economy of a state that is growing as fast as we are.'
The growing pains are severe, and they can't be solved with sloganeering. A growing population needs smart investments in roads, bridges, schools and rail. The state must hire better teachers, educate more doctors and attract more businesses to keep our workforce and economy strong and healthy.[3]
  • Ross Ramsey, Texas Tribune (January 10, 2018)
The “establishment,” in political shorthand, often refers to the boring elders — and the people carrying their ideas forward — who have traditionally run big institutions and long-lasting political factions. But it’s a sloppy label. Look at Texas Republicans, split into factions like the Democrats who dominated state government 40 years ago, and the names that have been tagged to them: movement conservatives, mainline or mainstream Republicans, social conservatives, establishment Republicans, moderates, the Tea Party, RINOs (Republicans in name only) and so on. Those groups are distinct, but the labels overlap considerably. In particular, the establishment is arguably not the group you think it is. It’s certainly not what it was.
...
House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, won a special election in 2005 in a House district that has sent a steady stream of mainline Republicans to the state Capitol. His family was involved in Republican politics for decades and fit comfortably in any definition of “the establishment.” Straus’ power is waning, now that he has said he won’t seek another term as a state representative, much less as speaker. Patrick’s power is waxing; he steered Gov. Greg Abbott from the middle of the road to his side of the biggest cultural/political issue of last year’s legislative session — which restrooms and other facilities transgender Texans should use. He’s running for re-election against a field of Democrats and Republicans who have never campaigned statewide. And he heads a Texas Senate whose members are, on average, objectively more conservative than the Texas senators who preceded them. The governor, the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, comptroller and other statewides, along with most of those senators and a big bloc of state representatives, ran as Republicans appealing to the most conservative voters who dominate their party’s primaries.
The moderates — Republicans hate being called moderates, by the way — used to be the establishment, back in the day of Gov. George W. Bush. Straus, who ultimately won the credit and blame for killing that bathroom bill last year, has been their champion, though he contends he’s presided over a historically conservative Texas House. The more conservative Republicans have made a strong run for that establishment flag, and they’re trying to strengthen their position in this year’s elections.[4]
  • Christopher Hooks, Texas Observer (November 14, 2017)
It would be hard to overestimate the importance of the speaker’s election in 2019 on Texans’ lives, and the outcome of that depends entirely on what happens in the next six months of the Republican primary and next year’s general election.
What makes the outcome of the next speaker’s race so difficult to game out — apart from the fact that our world broke at some point in the last couple years — is that there are three strong competing phenomena in the House right now. The first is simply that Democrats may be approaching a wave election. The Democrats have a meaningful chance of winning more seats in the House next year than they’ve won since 2008. That could be helpful in the effort to select a Straus-type speaker.
The second is that Republican primary fights between moderates and conservatives will be especially vicious this year, particularly if Abbott puts the weight of his political machine behind it. That could be good for Democrats, but it also diminishes the chances of selecting a moderate speaker, because the casualties of the primary will include at least a few more experienced moderates, replaced in the ranks by pliable freshmen, as they always do.
The third is that the Republican circle is tightening. The GOP and affiliated organizations, such as Texans for Lawsuit Reform, are pushing hard for Republican candidates to pledge to select the next speaker without Democrats. This leads to a paradox: It’s plausible that House Democrats emerge from next year’s election stronger than they’ve been in years, yet more powerless than ever before.[5]
  • Phil Prazen, KXAN (October 27, 2017)
Speaker Joe Straus, after 5-terms in the top spot in the Texas House, is not seeking re-election. However, he says he’s confident the next House speaker will be what he calls a “responsible Republican” and not a member of his foes in the “Texas Freedom Caucus.” Straus, R- San Antonio, is confident a thoughtful Republican will be voted as next speaker. That’s despite his opponents in the far-right celebrating his voluntary exit. State Rep. Johnathan Stickland, R-Bedford, tweeted “Victory!!” The Texas Freedom Caucus Twitter account reacted with, “It’s morning again in Texas!”
“That’s the only victory they get because they sure as heck couldn’t beat me. They tried,” said Speaker Straus. For years, a few dozen called him a tyrant as he was a major voice against controversial measures like requiring Texans to use the bathroom based on their biological sex and scrapping in-state tuition for students brought illegally to the United States as children.
“I’d tell them to get with the program. To drop the silly stuff. To start engaging on issues that really matter to most people, that matter to the future prosperity of our state. To consider other people’s opinions.”
He says he will not run in 2018, but will continue as speaker until 2019. However, he will campaign for his allies — in his words “responsible Republicans” — as his opponents in the Tea Party get ready to pounce.
“My team has certainly tried to be polite and let them have their voice. They have a right to their voice. But they’re never going to be running the show here as long as they’re self limiting the way they are. Most people aren’t going to want to identify the way they practice politics,” said Straus.
The speaker is selected by the 150 members of the Texas House. The House Republican Caucus is looking at changing their rules, so to select a speaker candidate as a party and then pledge to vote for them. That would sideline Democrats in the process. Democrats consistently delivered their votes to Speaker Straus. There are two declared candidates for speaker so far: Weatherford Rep. Phil King and Houston area Rep. John Zerwas, who is considered a strong Straus ally.[6]
  • Christopher Hooks, Texas Observer (October 25, 2017)
"Joe Straus’ reputation is that of a boring and studious moderate, but that’s dead wrong. The speaker of the Texas House is a freak, a space oddity, an aberration of nature too weird to live and too rare to die. For the last decade, Joseph Richard Straus III has been one of the most unusual figures in American politics — a moderate, soft-spoken Republican who turned the chaotic lower chamber of an extremely conservative state into a parliamentary body run by a grand coalition of both parties, and kept it that way year after year despite venomous and deep-pocketed opposition.
He’s also a sort of one-man control group in Texas politics — a business-friendly, country club Republican who stayed the course while the rest of the Texas GOP disappeared entirely up its own behind. What once made him mundane now makes him almost unspeakably radical. And now that he’s not seeking re-election, Straus is best understood against the backdrop of how everything else has changed.
...
A tremendous amount now depends on whether a Straus-type successor can be elected speaker. John Zerwas, a moderate who once flirted with supporting Medicaid expansion, today announced his bid to do just that, and Chris Turner, the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, quickly signaled a willingness to deliver the caucus’ votes to the best possible contender. That would mean, hypothetically, that Zerwas will need some 15-25 Republican votes to clinch it in the way Straus once did. That seems very doable — particularly if Democrats are able to make real gains in the next general election, in what should be a favorable climate — but no one can say."[2]
  • Ross Ramsey, Texas Tribune (October 16, 2017)
Joe Straus wants a committee to look at the state’s economic competitiveness and make sure the state government doesn’t spoil a high-functioning business environment. That might be a good government idea. It’s a great political idea. The House speaker’s timing is adroit. The new House Select Committee on Economic Competitiveness is on a short fuse, with 60 days to “look at issues such as workforce readiness, infrastructure and state and local economic development tools,” according to the speaker’s announcement. “The committee will also study the reasons that employers give for choosing, or not choosing, to do business in a particular state." In case that’s too indirect, think bathrooms. Straus came out on the winning side in the Texas Legislature’s recent rumbles over whether and how to regulate which restrooms and other facilities transgender Texans should be allowed to use. His argument — bolstered, late in the game, by a swell of support from business leaders — was that proposed state regulations would hurt the state’s image with the people making decisions about business expansions and relocations.
...
Bathrooms aren’t the only variable in the business development equation, but they’re the topical one, splitting incumbent Republican lawmakers and their potential challengers into factions on an issue of some interest to primary voters. Among other things, those primaries will answer a question that animated much of the regular and special legislative sessions this year: Are conservative voters in sync with conservative business leaders, or are lawmakers who sided with business in danger when those voters enter polling places next year?
...
Social conservatives have had an outsized voice in recent Republican primaries. One great example was the 2014 race for lieutenant governor where then-state Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston beat three statewide elected officials — Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples — by running as the most conservative choice. To keep his momentum — not to mention the state representatives most likely to keep him in the speaker’s chair for two more years — Straus and the establishment Republicans need continuing support from the business leaders who opposed the bathroom bill. One faction wants the primaries to be a debate over morals. Straus wants a focus on the Texas economy, and his new committee could offer protection to candidates making that argument."[7]
  • Gromer Jeffers Jr., Dallas Morning News (October 12, 2017)
"[Straus'] speech Tuesday was more than a victory lap before a friendly crowd. It was an urgent call for business leaders to stay engaged in legislative affairs and the political campaigns that elect lawmakers to the Legislature. The March Republican primaries are expected to feature more than 50 contested House races statewide, and at least three heavily competitive Senate races in North Texas. In many instances, so-called business-minded Republicans like Straus are pitted against hard-right conservatives. Straus told The Dallas Morning News that he would protect and support candidates who share his views, including the need to pour more resources into public education and not waste time debating issues that don't affect — or worse, that negatively influence — the state's growth.
In most election cycles, some business leaders, particularly moderate Republicans, are reluctant to get heavily involved in primary politics. That's what made the mobilization to defeat the bathroom bill so remarkable. Straus called this week for a similar level of participation, in 2018 and beyond."[8]
  • Gromer Jeffers Jr., Dallas Morning News (September 19, 2017)
"This year's legislative sessions have inflamed the upcoming election season, leaving hard feelings among conservatives who were upset that the Republican-controlled Legislature failed to approve a property tax overhaul, caps on local government spending and a bill that would restrict which bathrooms transgender Texans could use, among other items.
Only about half of Abbott's 20-item wish list for the summer special session passed, after opposition from House Speaker Joe Straus and others. And for his part, Straus is preparing to defend allies against what his aides call the fringe. 'Speaker Straus knows that extremist groups will try to defeat constructive conservatives who are serious about solving the state's problems,' spokesman Jason Embry said. 'The speaker will work hard in the months ahead to help and support solutions-oriented Republicans who are under attack from the usual fringe organizations.' Patrick, a harsh critic of Straus during the legislative sessions, said through a spokesman that he'll get involved in Senate races, but not House. 'I'm sure we will be involved on some level,' said Allen Blakemore, a consultant for Patrick. 'Our brand is the Texas Senate, and we're proud of the work the Senate has produced.'"[9]

Coalition-building

  • Brandon Rottinghaus, Trib Talk, (January 22, 2018)
The internecine warfare between the establishment conservatives (read: Texas House Speaker Joe Straus and lieutenants) and movement conservatives (read: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the Freedom Caucus) has divided the Republican Party’s politics and legislative agenda. Divergences of tactics and topics have split Texas Republicans on issues of school vouchers, vaccinations, local control and property tax reform. Several high-profile primary elections feature challenges to incumbent Republicans, underscoring the ideological separation.
One way this battle plays out is in the shootout between Empower Texas and the Texas Association of Business, two groups representing the gunslingers facing off at high noon. Empower Texans has been vilified as a group of divisive scorecard keepers looking for party purity above practical politics. Conservative Republicans have demonized the Texas Association of Business (TAB) as a “liberal” interest group too willing to accommodate Democrats. Democratic strategists have hinted at a realignment that would bring business interests back to the Democratic Party, where they were after World War II to the 1970s.[10]
  • Christopher Hooks, Texas Observer (November 14, 2017)
In the latest episode of Texas Politics, God’s dumbest reality show, Governor Greg Abbott celebrated the beginning of Republican primary season by going to war — against a popular incumbent lawmaker in his own party, in a district that Hillary Clinton won by 15 points. On Monday morning, Abbott issued a fatwa of sorts, calling for the replacement of state Representative Sarah Davis, a moderate pro-choice Republican, with primary challenger Susanna Dokupil, a right-wing lawyer and board member of the Seasteading Institute, which exists to build libertarian cruise ships and permanently station them in international waters, free from the laws of man.
...
So, again, why is Abbott getting behind this? It may simply be that he knows Dokupil personally — she was an assistant solicitor general when he was Texas attorney general. Or it may be that he’s keeping his promise from the session that any legislator who crossed him would be put on a “list.”
But it’s worth considering the broader conservative political project here. If Abbott’s goal is an ideologically uniform House caucus, then it’s genuinely preferable to lose Davis’ seat than to allow her to continue to win. Beating Davis in the primary — even if it cedes the seat to a Democrat — removes the only openly pro-choice Republican voice from the caucus, and it pushes other lawmakers who show an independent streak back in the herd.
Because the Republicans are in no real danger of losing their overall House majority anytime soon, it’s better for Abbott and friends to have a smaller, purer GOP caucus. And in Davis’ case, a gentle nudge might be enough to do it — for years, Democrats have talked idly about convincing her to switch parties, a prospect that may now be more enticing. (Harris County Republicans had been set to debate a motion to censure Davis for her too-liberal voting record on Monday night; it was apparently withdrawn after Abbott’s endorsement.)
House Speaker Joe Straus’ retirement gives Abbott and others the opportunity to try to force conformity on the House. That’s going to lead to a lot of strange dynamics in the next four months, as the Republican primary heats up. For one thing, Straus has promised to use his ample campaign funds to push hard for his candidates this cycle, which means Davis’ district provides an opportunity for Straus and Abbott to butt heads.[5]
  • Kenric Ward, Texas Monitor (October 19, 2017)
A new Texas political action committee is turning up the heat on Speaker Joe Straus and calling for a House cleaning from the top down, with campaign funds earmarked for key races. Formed by conservatives angry over the House’s failure to enact reform measures supported by Gov. Greg Abbott, the New Leadership PAC launched this week. 'It has become clear that leaders in the Texas House have lost contact with the core principles of the majority of Texans,' said NLP treasurer Don Dyer. 'It is time for a new force for change that will remove these barriers to progress.'
...
In [a press release], NLP said it will 'encourage and support new leadership at all levels in the Texas House during the 2018 primary season and beyond.' Dyer said the PAC is 'encouraging new leadership both from within and from outside of the House.' 'One initiative we’ll be pursuing is campaign support for new candidates in key house districts. Our current plans are to provide a $5,000 contribution to challenger candidates in those districts, with the potential for additional follow on support where it makes sense.' The group did not disclose its current war chest or targets, but Dyer told The Texas Monitor: 'We are raising funds now and based on initial contributions and commitments, we believe we will be able to play a meaningful role in many races this coming primary cycle.'
Characterizing the PAC as a volunteer effort, Dyer said there have been no conversations with Abbott or the governor’s staff. “But I think it’s clear from statements from the governor, his top advisers and many other leaders across the state following the failed special session that there’s more than just frustration with House leadership.”[11]
  • Jennifer Waisath Harris, Texas Monthly (October 16, 2017)
"There’s no sign that social conservatives are ready to give up, nor are they willing to focus on the real priorities that can make or break the state’s long-term economic strength. A strong energy sector, low taxes, and light regulation won’t provide immunity when businesses and families start to consider the state of the state around them and see a Legislature increasingly fixated on division, rather than infrastructure, workforce concerns, and public education. There are certainly rumblings of businesses re-engaging to back pro-business candidates, with a renewed charge being led by organizations like the Texas Association of Businesses. These groups would be wise to cultivate credible, pro-business candidates on the GOP or Democrat primary ballots, being strategic in their financial and grassroots support of a more moderate slate of candidates on the ballot in 2018.
The public education community is also rising up and preparing to aggressively engage in House and Senate races in 2018, eyeing the Texas Senate, which has been downright adversarial to public schools since Patrick knocked out moderate incumbent David Dewhurst in 2014. Kristin Tassin, president of the Fort Bend Independent School District Board of Trustees, recently announced her GOP primary challenge to incumbent Senator Joan Huffman, a Houston Republican. It’s easy to see these two constituencies crossing over or jointly driving greater voter turnout. Businesses that relocate and expand in Texas choose to do so in communities with high-quality public education for the families of their employees."[12]
  • Gromer Jeffers Jr., Dallas Morning News (September 19, 2017)
"When the candidate filing period ends in December, at least 50 incumbents are expected to face opposition, including some of the most powerful lawmakers in the Texas Legislature. There are already 40 contested races in the House and four in the Senate, including three bellwether matchups in North Texas. What's different about the upcoming election cycle is not only the number of challenges, but also the players who will be involved behind the scenes.
The top two Republicans in the state, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, have pledged their involvement, although they won't be actively recruiting candidates. 'The governor plans to aggressively support those people who are with him and aggressively support qualified candidates who are running against people who were not supportive,' said Dave Carney, an Abbott political adviser."
...
"The most-watched races in the Texas House will involve Straus committee chairmen and chairwomen targeted by conservative groups like Empower Texans, Texas Right to Life and Texas Values — and perhaps Abbott. Tops on the list are Reps. Byron Cook of Corsicana and Dan Flynn of Van, who survived close races two years ago. But the hit list includes many others, including Straus. The speaker, with $10 million in his campaign fund, does not have a challenger for his San Antonio seat. But opponents of his leadership may want to saddle him with competition, if only to prevent him from using his resources on other races. Michael Quinn Sullivan, director of Empower Texans, said the true political contests have always been inside the GOP, since the state has been solidly red since 2003. "So many folks are paying close attention to the goings-on in the Legislature that they're running for seats," Sullivan said. "Public policy is shaped during primary elections, when candidates make promises and outline their positions on issues."[9]
  • Ross Ramsey, Texas Tribune, (August 23, 2017)
The guns of August are blazing. Whatever Gov. Greg Abbott decides to do with his nice and naughty lists of which legislators were with him and against him this year, it’s clear that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants voters to connect the legislative results to next year’s elections. In a radio interview this week, Patrick went right at his House counterpart and foil, Speaker Joe Straus: "You do need to ask the question, ‘Are you going to vote for the speaker next session who is undermining the political party in our conservative state?'"
In a Tuesday email to political supporters, Patrick, who doesn't yet have an opponent, listed Straus as his rival: "Re-elect me as your Lt. Governor so I can continue to stand up to the Speaker and keep pressure on those who do not support the Texas conservative majority." Ignore the personalities for a moment. This is a fight for the control of the Republican Party that in turn controls state government. It’s like the GOP family finally got all of the relatives to a big reunion, only to find out that one branch doesn’t like the cousins from another branch. Texas is a two-party state, and both parties are Republican.[13]

The candidates

  • Ken Herman, My Statesman, (January 20, 2018)
Through the miracle (menace?) of Twitter, let’s eavesdrop on a conversation between two of our duly elected state officials. But first, let’s meet our players. State Rep. Jonathan Stickland (known to some as “Sticky”) is a Republican from the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Bedford. He’s a keep-government-out-of-our-lives kind of guy. Really far out of out lives. Stickland’s been in the Texas House since 2013. His combative, confrontational style, makes him beloved by a few and hated by others. You need some of that kind in any legislative body. Some, but not too many.
GOP Rep. Sarah Davis (known to some as “Sarah”) first came to the Texas House in 2011. She’s from West University Place (known to some as “Houston”). Like Stickland, she’s a battler, though in a different way. “Been known to be scrappy,” says Davis’ Twitter profile.By Texas legislative standards, she’s not overly partisan. You need some of that kind in any legislative body. In fact, it’s helpful to have a lot of that kind.
A bit more background: Though both on the GOP team, Stickland and Davis don’t play well together. He’s really, really red (in the GOP way, not the commie way.) She’s kind of purpley, a color that stands out in the 150-member Texas House.
...
Stickland is unopposed in the GOP primary and has a Dem opponent without a chance of winning. Davis has big-time GOP primary opposition in Susanna Dokupil, who’s backed by Gov. Greg Abbott. The governor is taking sides in some GOP primaries as the party in power wages a sometimes-uncivil civil war.
That brings us to the Twitter unpleasantness on which we’re going to eavesdrop that started Thursday Jan. 4 with this from Stickland: “My team is spending this week helping @susannadokupil replace LIB @SarahforHD134- Response so far: Overwhelmingly positive.”
...
Stickland had announced his political goals in this New Year’s Eve tweet: “You heard it here first: 2018 is destined to be remembered as the ‘year of the RINO slaughter.’” “RINO,” which stands for Republican In Name Only, is the worst thing one Repub can call another, even worse than “liberal.” “I have no opponent. Time to travel the state and help kick my RINO colleagues out of office,” Stickland had tweeted.
His Jan. 4 tweet announcing his jihad on Davis inspired her to respond with a photo of Stickland and this quote from him: “Rape is non existent in marriage, take what you want my friend!”
Background: Stickland has apologized for a 2008 online post in which he advised somebody: “Rape is non existent in marriage, take what you want my friend!" “I’ve apologized 4 stupid comments I made in my younger years,” Stickland tweeted to Davis. “Have u publicly apologized for your horrendous liberal voting record?”
..."[14]
  • Christopher Hooks, Texas Observer (November 14, 2017)
In the latest episode of Texas Politics, God’s dumbest reality show, Governor Greg Abbott celebrated the beginning of Republican primary season by going to war — against a popular incumbent lawmaker in his own party, in a district that Hillary Clinton won by 15 points. On Monday morning, Abbott issued a fatwa of sorts, calling for the replacement of state Representative Sarah Davis, a moderate pro-choice Republican, with primary challenger Susanna Dokupil, a right-wing lawyer and board member of the Seasteading Institute, which exists to build libertarian cruise ships and permanently station them in international waters, free from the laws of man.
If that information is hard to make sense of, so are most recent events on Texas Politics. Conservative activists hate Davis, the least conservative Republican in the House. Davis is a generally reliable vote for abortion rights, gay rights, public schools, vaccines, etc. But Abbott’s decision to weigh in against a party incumbent breaks an unwritten rule, and the political logic behind it is hard to parse. House District 134 covers much of Houston’s upscale west side, including Bellaire and West University Place, went for Clinton by 15 percentage points in 2016, and was held by Democrat Ellen Cohen before Davis won it in 2010. Davis is probably the GOP’s best chance to retain the seat, so Abbott’s decision to join the fight seems to put his own desire to unseat Davis ahead of the party’s interest.[5]
  • Gromer Jeffers Jr., Dallas Morning News (September 19, 2017)
North Texas is the epicenter of the GOP primary clash, where three potential Republican Senate seats are up for grabs. Most of the contests feature incumbents facing Republicans who are trying to prove they're the more conservative choice. But in some instances, the competition reveals fights between candidates with similar ideologies, including the Senate District 8 battle in Collin County, where Angela Paxton and Phillip Huffines are tangling for an open seat.
Paxton supporters are stressing her Collin County roots while casting Huffines as an opportunist who recently moved into the district. Huffines has been in the race since March and will likely strike back with attacks that involve Paxton's husband, Attorney General Ken Paxton, who faces an upcoming trial on felony securities fraud charges. The Paxton-Huffines race could split conservatives with alliances on the right end of the party spectrum. "What's really going to surprise people is that there is going to be conservative against conservative," Miller said of many of the GOP contests. "The notion of being further to the right, how do you prove that anymore?"
In Senate District 2, Rep. Cindy Burkett is challenging incumbent Republican Bob Hall, R-Edgewood. Hall is already labeling Burkett a moderate, while Burkett, R-Sunnyvale, has said Hall's heart is in the right place, but he doesn't get things done.
And in Senate District 30, Rep. Pat Fallon of Frisco is going up against longtime incumbent Craig Estes of Wichita Falls. Fallon is casting Estes as an establishment Republican past his legislative prime, and Estes says he has closer connections to the district.[9]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ In selecting articles for inclusion in this section, Ballotpedia has drawn from a variety of sources and viewpoints to identify articles that are representative of broader trends in media coverage.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named STRAUS
  3. ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Vote in primaries, or watch extremists destroy Texas' economy," January 19, 2018
  4. ↑ Texas Tribune, "Analysis: Who’s the establishment, anyway?," January 10, 2018
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Texas Observer, "Greg Abbott Declares War on Moderate Republicans," November 14, 2017
  6. ↑ KXAN, "Speaker Straus: the Freedom Caucus will never run the show in the House," October 27, 2017
  7. ↑ Texas Tribune, "Analysis: Bathrooms, business and ballots," October 16, 2017
  8. ↑ Dallas Morning News, "With GOP primary looming, Texas House Speaker Joe Straus wants business leaders to stay engaged," October 12, 2017
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Dallas Morning News, "Family feud, 2018 edition: Republicans brace for internal struggle in March primaries," September 19, 2017
  10. ↑ Trib Talk, "What’s an endorsement worth?," January 22, 2018
  11. ↑ Texas Monitor, "New PAC aims to topple Straus and his lieutenants in ‘corrupt’ House," October 19, 2017
  12. ↑ Texas Monthly, "Businesses Need to Re-Engage in the Republican Primary," October 16, 2017
  13. ↑ Texas Tribune, "Analysis: Firing the opening shots in the 2018 GOP primaries, August 23, 2017
  14. ↑ My Statesman, "Herman: Let’s eavesdrop on two Texas Repubs going at it on Twitter," January 20, 2018
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