Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton‘s recent endorsements demonstrate his desire to upturn Super Tuesday elections against rivals who headed his impeachment last year.
Tuesday’s election will include 150 state representatives, 15 state senators, 11 judges, 38 members of the House of Representatives, and the senate seat that is currently held by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), as well as other state offices. There are a total of 101 Republican primary candidates challenging Republican incumbents for those seats in Texas, many of whom Paxton has endorsed.
Speaker of the Texas House Rep. Dade Phelan (R), who is running for reelection, fell into the attorney general’s crosshairs after overseeing his impeachment. Paxton has attacked Phelan for allegedly being drunk on the job after an instance during the trial where Phelan seemingly slurred his speech. Phelan has responded by issuing attack ads against Paxton, centering on his near impeachment and alleged affair with a staffer. However, Paxton won’t be up for reelection until 2026 after recently winning his third term in 2022.
Paxton endorsed Phelan’s opponent David Covey, who formerly served as a delegate in the 2016 Republican National Convention. Despite Covey’s history voting for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), he has also nabbed the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. These endorsements may have helped in fundraising just shy of $400,000.
However, Phelan, with his ten-year anniversary in the House approaching, has garnered support to the tune of over $6 million. Still, the Super Tuesday election is the first time Phelan will face primary opposition, as he has run unopposed every cycle since the 2016 election.
Another 30 challengers against Republican congressional members are among Paxton’s endorsements. The attorney general’s list even clashes with that of Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX).
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Paxton is also endorsing the opponents of three judges in the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals: Sharon Keller, Michelle Slaughter, and Barbara Hervey. These three ruled against Paxton’s authority to prosecute instances of election interference. Keller and Hervey are among the state’s longest-serving judges at 23 years and 30 years, respectively.
Earlier this week, Paxton was at a campaign barbecue for David Lowe, challenging Rep. Stephanie Klick of the 91st district in the North Richland Hills area. He followed that up with another event to get out the vote in Austin, with his wife Sen. Angela Paxton, which included five Republican challengers.
