We have the results of yesterdays runoff election, and it’s a mixed bag. Sitting Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan survived Dave Covey’s challenge by less than 400 votes. Evidently a ton of gambling special interest money an encouraging Democrats to vote Republican pulled him over the line. However, almost all Phelan’s political allies pulled into a runoff went down:
Texas Governor Greg Abbott is cheering the results a vindication for school choice.
“While we did not win every race we fought in, the overall message from this year’s primaries is clear: Texans want school choice,” Abbott said. “Opponents can no loner ignore the will of the people.”
The governor’s electoral crusade for school choice came to a head this week, as eleven out of the 15 Republican challengers Abbott backed this cycle defeated House incumbents in their primaries. Abbott also worked to boot seven anti-voucher Republicans off the ballot in the state’s March Republican primaries.
Voucher bills have failed in Texas, most notably, last year, when 21 House Republicans voted against expanding school choice as part of an education-funding bill. Abbott’s push to oust school-choice dissidents was backed by major Republican donors and groups, such as Betsy DeVos’s American Federation for Children Victory Fund, which spent $4.5 million on the races altogether, Club for Growth, which poured $4 million into targeting anti-voucher runoff candidates, and Jeff Yass, an investor and mega-donor, who made about $12 million in contributions to both Abbott and the AFC Victory Fund. Abbott spent an unprecedented $8 million of his own campaign funds to support pro-voucher candidates.
Not every incumbent went down. Incumbent Gary VanDeaver beat challenger Chris Spencer by some 1,500 votes. But backing Phelan, opposing school choice and voting to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton has proven so toxic for incumbents used to romping to easy primary victories that it’s hard to imagine Phelan being able to get reelected as speaker.
Brandon Herrera entered the runoff 21 points behind Tony Gonzalez for U.S. District 23. Ultimately that gap was too large to make up, but he only lost 50.7% to 49.3%. That a sitting congressman with a huge name and money advantage only managed to beat a YouTuber by one and a half points shows that Republican incumbents ignore gun rights at their peril.
Other Republican U.S. congressional race runoff results:
Tags: 12th Congressional District, 2024 Election, 32nd Congressional District, 35th Congressional District, 7th Congressional District, Alan Schoolcraft, Andy Hopper, Brandon Herrera, Caroline Kane, Chris Spencer, Craig Goldman, Dade Phelan, Dallas, David Lowe, Democrats, DeWayne Burns, Elections, Fort Worth, Frederick Frazier, Garland, Gary VanDeaver, Greg Casar, Guns, Helen Kerwin, Henry Cuellar, Houston, Jay Furman, John Kuempel, John O'Shea, Justin Holland, Katrina Pierson, Kay Granger, Kenneth Omoruyi, Keresa Richardson, Lazaro Garza Jr., Lizzie Fletcher, Lynn Stucky, Metroplex, Michael Rodriguez, Republicans, Richardson, runoff, Second Amendment, Stephanie Klick, Steven Wright, Texas, Texas 23rd Congressional District, Texas 28th Congressional District, Texas House District 1, Texas House District 33, Texas House District 44, Texas House District 58, Texas House District 61, Texas House District 64, Texas House District 91, Tony Gonzales, Trey Hunt
Agreed that Phelan is unlikely to be reelected Speaker.
In the past, he’s been able to quietly get just enough pledge cards from RINOs / retail politicians like Kuempel that he could then cut a deal with the Dems and then announce that he had pledge cards from a majority of House members, which made his election automatic as nobody would want to cross the Speaker.
Now, with Paxton publicly telling GOP House members “YOU’RE NEXT” if they vote for Phelan, I hope that the GOP House Caucus does what the state GOP platform has called for for many years — have a caucus meeting to decide who will be the Speaker.
And if they do that, the Strauss / Bonnen / Phelan RINO Machine era comes to an end.
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So let’s assume that the Pubs hold the House after November. Let’s further assume that the newcomers who dumped the incumbents in the primaries remain true to their politics and beliefs and don’t immediately succumb to “Austin-itis” and the usual shift that politicians make once they’re safely in office.
Does Mr. Phelan retain the Speaker-ship? What do the tea-leaves say?
Herrera wants a recount:
https://youtu.be/AfKV8ememO8?si=wN9EF-IeZPg2Tn9y