Lots of gratifying results came out of yesterday’s primaries. Perhaps the most gratifying is that the Straus-Bonnen-Phelan Axis, which has thwarted conservative priorities for decades, finally had a stake driven through its heart.
First statewide and national office races:
Former president Donald Trump seems poised to breeze to the Republican presidential nomination after nearly sweeping the party’s Super Tuesday contests.
By 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Trump had won the Republican presidential contests in at least twelve of the Super Tuesday states: Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Maine, Alabama, Massachusetts, Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, and delegate-rich California.
Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, meanwhile, earned her first — and likely only — win of the night in Vermont.
Results from caucuses in Alaska and Utah were still outstanding around 11:30 p.m. ET.
In the Republican primary race for Texas Congressional District 23, Brandon Herrera has taken incumbent Congressman Tony Gonzales to a runoff.
According to unofficial totals, Gonzales captured 46 percent of the vote to Herrera’s 23 percent.
Leading into the election, much of the discussion centered on Gonzales’ multiple censures from Republican organizations.
The congressman had been censured by the Medina County Republican Party, which was followed by a censure from the Republican Party of Texas (RPT).
The RPT censure was only the second time in history the party had used the maneuver for a sitting politician, the first being in 2018 with then-House Speaker Joe Staus (R-San Antonio). House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) then became the third sitting member to be censured by the State Republican Executive Committee when they approved the official resolution in February.
Gonzales’ censure came after RPT found that he had violated the multiple tenets of the party platform with his votes in Congress.
The incumbent Gonzales had also been criticized for his stance on border security.
In December, he penned a letter to both Democratic and Republican federal leadership stating that he believes the border crisis could reach a “point of no return” if lawmakers do not act soon.
The letter came after a disagreement with Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX-21) over a border security bill Roy introduced to require the detention or expulsion of illegal immigrants, which would prohibit “all asylum” claims. Gonzales has also labeled some of his GOP colleagues “insurgents” and accused 20 Republicans of planning to push “anti-immigrant” legislation under the guise of border security policy.
The leading issue for voters statewide leading into the primary election is border security and immigration, which is represented by the vote totals in this race.
Herrera describes himself as a “Second Amendment activist, and social media personality,” known online as “The AK Guy.”
He proclaimed, “Texas is done with RINO’s,” during the night of the primary election.
“The war starts now.”
(Previously.)
But in Texas, the big news was that Dade Phalen, the latest in the Joe Straus/Dennis Bonnen cabal that has stayed in power with Democratic Party backing to thwart conservative priorities, is headed into a runoff with David Covey for Texas House District 21, with less than half a point separating the two.
The Speaker of the Texas House Dade Phelan will be heading to a runoff, after failing to receive the support of a majority of Republican voters in his district.
Phelan, who was first elected to the House in 2014 and has been speaker since 2021, will face off against former Orange County GOP chairman David Covey in a runoff election that is certain to garner attention from across the state.
Phelan had been criticized by conservatives for failing to pass conservative priorities, placing Democrats in leadership positions, and leading the charge to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton last year. Former President Donald Trump endorsed Covey, calling any Republican who backed Phelan “a fool.”
Phelan received 45.8 percent of the vote with Covey earning 45.3 percent.
Alicia Davis, a Jasper County activist, took 8.9 percent of the vote.
“The people of House District 21 have put every politician in Texas, and the nation, on notice,” said Covey. “Our elected officials are elected by the people and work for the people, and when they don’t, there will be consequences.”
“Since 1836, Texans have answered the call to defend liberty and fight for our freedoms. I have every intention of continuing that tradition,” he added.
Covey was joined by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at his election night watch party. Patrick, who has been a vocal critic of Phelan, had not officially endorsed Covey.
But it wasn’t just Phelan! A whole bunch of the Republican state reps who backed Phelan either lost outright or are headed to runoffs:
The runoff rematch between state Rep. Glenn Rogers (R-Graford) and Mike Olcott went entirely unlike the first round two years ago, with Olcott defeating the incumbent in a landslide.
Once Palo Pinto County returns came in, it was clear which way the bout would go. Olcott won Rogers’ home county by 365 votes and cleaned up in the rest of the district.
Last go-around, Rogers nipped Olcott by a few hundred votes, thanks in large part to support from Gov. Greg Abbott. This time in the rematch, the governor switched sides after Rogers voted against his education savings account plan — opposition to which the incumbent has remained steadfast. On Monday, state Sen. Phil King (R-Weatherford) announced his support for Olcott in the race.
Rogers outlasted his previous two stiff primary challenges, the first in 2020 for the open seat against Jon Francis, the son-in-law of conservative mega-donors Farris and JoAnn Wilks. Then in 2022 Olcott challenged Rogers, the incumbent, and narrowly lost.
This time, Abbott has made multiple trips to the district, stating at one that, “There are many reasons we are here today, and one of those is that I made a mistake last time in endorsing Glenn Rogers. And I’m here to correct that mistake. I’m here to make sure everyone knows, I’m here to support Mike Olcott to be your state representative.”
Olcott swept the top-level endorsements with Abbott, Donald Trump, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
uring the 88th Legislative session last year, Clardy was one of the House members who voted in favor of stripping education savings accounts from the November education omnibus bill.
Leading into the election a central issue was how each candidate landed on school choice, as both Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) have based their candidate endorsements on support for education freedom.
Clardy was also issued a cease and desist letter by Abbott for “representing to the public that Governor Abbott has endorsed you in your bid for re-election,” when in fact Abbott had endorsed his opponent Joanne Shofner, whom the letter called “a true conservative.” Clardy has continued to express vocal opposition to school choice: “Right now, the price to get his endorsement was I had to bend the knee and kiss the ring and say that I will vote for vouchers[.]”
Shofner, along with both Abbott and Cruz’s support, also had the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
Conservative activist Shelley Luther has won her rematch against incumbent Republican State Rep. Reggie Smith of Van Alystne to represent House District 62 in North Texas.
House District 62 includes Grayson, Fannin, and portions of Delta and Franklin counties.
Smith, who has served in the Texas House since 2018, is part of the House leadership team, serving as chair of the House Election Committee under House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont). As chair, Smith either slow-walked or killed several Republican priority measures addressing election security.
Smith’s record from the past year also includes voting to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton—who was later acquitted by the Senate—and voting against school choice legislation.
Luther, who made state and national headlines in 2020 when she was jailed after refusing to close her salon during the COVID-19 shutdowns, said previously she looks forward to working with the governor to pass school choice this next session.
Allison voted with Democrats to strip a school choice measure from a school spending measure.
His opposition to school choice drew the ire of Gov. Greg Abbott, who endorsed LaHood.
During Allison’s two terms, he has earned an “F” rating on the Fiscal Responsibility Index for his votes on fiscal issues. He was also one of the 60 Republican House members who voted to impeach Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Belton mom and pro-family advocate Hillary Hickland has won the Republican Primary Election for House District 55, unseating incumbent State Rep. Hugh Shine of Temple.
HD 55 encompasses part of Bell County.
School Choice has defined the HD 55 race, as Shine voted against Gov. Greg Abbott’s proposed school choice package.
Hickland meanwhile accumulated endorsements from Abbott, former President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, Attorney General Ken Paxton, Texas Home School Coalition, and Young Conservatives of Texas.
Businessman Matt Morgan has defeated State Rep. Jacey Jetton of Richmond in the Republican Primary.
House District 26 includes part of Fort Bend County.
The failed impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton featured prominently in the race.
Jetton was among the Republicans who voted to impeach Paxton.
Morgan—who fell short to Jetton in a runoff in 2020—quickly earned the endorsement of Paxton. He also had the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls, who called Jetton a “liberal.”
During his two terms in office, Jetton earned an “F” rating on the Fiscal Responsibility Index for his votes on fiscal issues.
State Rep. Justin Holland (R-Rockwall) and challenger Katrina Pierson will duke it out for another three months after neither eclipsed 50 percent, both advancing to the runoff.
The pair were neck and neck in the Rockwall County and Collin County portions of the district.
Holland’s clash with Pierson and London was highly-anticipated. Pierson has the largest profile of any challenger in this 2024 primary, having served as a Donald Trump campaign spokeswoman in 2016. On top of that, London challenged Holland in the 2022 primary, giving him some level of ballot name ID.
Despite that Trump affiliation, Pierson was omitted from the former president’s endorsement list in Texas races.
The incumbent found himself in the political right’s crosshairs after three consequential votes: impeaching Attorney General Ken Paxton, striking down Gov. Greg Abbott’s school choice plan, and advancing through committee a proposal to raise the age of purchasing certain semi-automatic rifles to 21.
Holland far outraised and outspent his two opponents, who combined raised $337,000 to the incumbent’s $1.2 million.
He was the beneficiary of around $170,000 from Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), $225,000 from the Charles Butt Public Education PAC, $50,000 from the casino group Texas Sands PAC, $40,000 from Texans for Lawsuit Reform, and $115,000 from the Associated Republicans of Texas.
Given the usual run of only one or two incumbents getting knocked off in primaries (and those usually involved in prominent scandals), having 17 reps meet that fate is a political earthquake on par with Newt Gingrich-lead Republicans capturing the House after 40 years of Democratic rule in 1994. All the outside gambling and other special interest money was on the Phelan Axis side, and they still got stomped. I credit this in large measure to Trump, Paxton, Abbott and Cruz getting involved in statehouse races.
The Phelan Axis decided that killing school choice and the Paxton impeachment were the hills they wanted to die on, and a large number of them did.
But not every rep who voted for the Paxton impeachment and/or against school choice lost or got taken to a runoff:
That’s 31 Republican reps that could theoretically reconstitute the Phelan axis, but I’m not sure they have the stomach for it.
Of those, Bell, Dean, Lambert, Darby, King and Geren were the only ones to vote both for the Paxton impeachment and against school choice. Michael Quinn Sullivan (who I’m pretty sure is ecstatic at the numbers of Phelan enablers taken down yesterday) has identified Burrows and Harris as the two most likely Phelan axis members to attempt to take the gavel next year, and Geren and Capriglione have always struck me as among the biggest supporters of the axis. But a lot of those other names strike me as “soft” axis supporters who might be persuaded to support an actual Republican for speaker, least the same fate befall them as all the other Phelan backers taken down.
All in all, it was a very, very good day for Texas conservatives.
Tags: 2024 Election, 2024 Presidential Race, 2024 Texas Senate Race, Abraham George, Alan Schoolcraft, Angie Chen Button, Barry Wernick, Ben Bumgarner, Bianca Gracia, Brad Schofield, Brandon Herrera, Brent Money, Briscoe Cain, Candy Noble, Chad Carnahan, Charlie Geren, Chris Spencer, Cody Harris, Colin Allred, Colony Ridge, Dade Phelan, Dan Mathews, Dan Patrick, Daren Meis, David Covey, David Spiller, Donald Trump, Drew Darby, Dustin Burrows, Elections, Ellen Troxclair, Elva Janine Chapa, Ernest Bailes, Frederick Frazier, Gary Gates, Gary VanDeaver, Giovanni Capriglione, Glenn Rogers, Greg Abbott, Greg Bonnen, Guns, Hillary Hickland, Hugh Shine, Jacey Jetton, Jack Reynolds, Jamie Haynes, Janis Holt, Jared Woodfill, Jeff Leach, Jill Dutton, Joanne Shofner, John Perez, John Smithee, Joshua Feuerstein, Justin Holland, Karen Post, Katrina Pierson, Keith Bell, Ken King, Ken Paxton, Keresa Richardson, Kerri Kingsbery, Kronda Thimesch, Kyle Biedermann, Lacey Hull, Larissa Ramirez, Liz Case, Mano Deayala, Marc LaHood, Matt Morgan, Matt Shaheen, Michael Quinn Sullivan, Mike Olcott, Mitch Little, Morgan Meyer, Nikki Haley, Reggie Smith, Republican Party of Texas, Republicans, Shelley Luther, Stan Gerdes, Stan Kitzman, Stan Lambert, Steve Allison, Stormy Bradley, Super Tuesday, Ted Cruz, Terry Wilson, Texas, Texas 23rd Congressional District, Texas House District 1, Texas House District 11, Texas House District 18, Texas House District 2, Texas House District 21, Texas House District 24, Texas House District 26, Texas House District 33, Texas House District 44, Texas House District 5, Texas House District 55, Texas House District 60, Texas House District 61, Texas House District 62, Texas House District 65, Texas House District 7, Texas House District 8, Tim Greeson, Tom Glass, Tony Gonzales, Travis Clardy, Wade Cowen, Wayne Richard
“Phelan received 45.8 percent of the vote with Covey earning 45.3 percent. ”
WTF? Where do they get those numbers from?
DAVID COVEY REP 9,970 15,579 46.31%
ALICIA DAVIS REP 2,053 3,517 10.45%
DADE PHELAN (I) REP 9,634 14,547 43.24%
Phelan TRAILS by over 3%
They probably wrote it before the totals were finalized.
So what I’d do if I were a member of the Texas GOP leadership:
Go to the 31 remaining RINOs and let them know that they can keep their current positions next year, but only if they jump ship to the conservative side now.
And I’d further let it be known that the deal only holds until they’ve got enough switchers to give Texas and actually GOP State House.
Any switchers after that get a lesser deal.
And any who remain on the Left get utterly crushed.
Let’s be real: any principled person who wanted to be part of the Phelan gang would be a Democrat, not a Republican. So these people are all corrupt. So the deal is simple: if they want to keep their grift, they’re going to have to vote and talk hard core MAGA / Tea Party / Freedom caucus.
Can a majority in the Texas House replace the Speaker at will? Because assuming he loses in May, that would be a great time to call in all the ones who are going to still be there next year, and let them know the time to switch is now.
Or else
With the House adjourned, I don’t believe the rules allow leadership changes. Thus there would be no official leadership change until the start of the 89th Legislative session on Jan 14, 2025.
Of course, the real speaker’s race will start almost immediately after the general election…
Kudos for using the idiom “catspaw” … that’s a new one for me.
As always, the Babylon Bee nails it:
https://babylonbee.com/news/raytheon-lowers-flags-to-half-staff-after-nikki-haley-drops-out
Hot giggity, I love Texas! I hope Covey b-slaps that corrupt grifter Phelan in the runoff.
I hope a few people here in Indiana get taken out to the woodshed in a similar manner.
Any thoughts on McCaul winning district 10? He ticked me off by voting to increase the Federal debt ceiling. He talks a good game, but then so do most of them. My suspicion is that he’s just another grifter, but I can’t substantiate that.
McCaul is an incumbent with a net worth somewhere around $300 million. He’s not a grifter, but he is squishy. Someone with that much of their own money is very difficult to dislodge over ideological purity.
Just looked at the vote totals on DDHQ. The numbers are brutal for Texas Dems. Specifically, in the US senate primaries, Allred did not win a majority in any of the S. Tex. counties, and only managed a narrow plurality in a few of them. Comparing the nominal vote totals, Cruz frequently had about 2X the votes in those S. Texas counties that Allred did. I’m wondering if the current TX 32nd HD would be vulnerable to a good republican candidate.
The only reason that Haley “won” in VT is because it was an “open” primary. When I went to vote, I was asked if I wanted an R ballot or a D ballot, and that was it. So with nothing at stake on the D side, lots of D’s voted for Haley just to deny DJT his sweep – and even with that, they barely managed it.
How do we get a movement started to be able to recall Senator Cornyn?
U.S. Senators and Representatives cannot be recalled, they can only be expelled by their respective legislative branches under Article I, Section 5, Clause 2 of the Constitution, which requires a 2/3rds vote of the whole House or Senate.
[…] Cuba, and Cuban dictatorship shuts off 75% of public lighting as energy crisis worsens BattleSwarm: Texas 2024 Primary Election Results: Trump Triumphant, Phelan In Runoff, Phelan Cronies Slaughtered Behind The Black: Is the Saxavord spaceport in the UK about to finally get approved for launches? […]
“How do we get a movement started to be able to recall Senator Cornyn?”
You don’t. You beat him in the primary in 2026. Booing him at the 2022 convention was fun, but we need to get rid of him. There is plenty of time for that. That will take work. Find a candidate who opposes Cornyn and support that candidate. It would be especially sweet to beat Cornyn in the primary if he actually becomes Senate Republican Majority/Minority leader.
Thank you for covering Brandon Herrera’s campaign against RINO Tony Gonzalez.
I’m a fan of his AKGuy YouTube channel, and I sent him $25 for his primary run, and I’ll be sending another $25 for his runoff against Gonzalez.
I’m a refugee stuck in deep blue suburban Chicago, so if Brandon wins the runoff and defeats the Dem in the election, he will be my “honorary House Rep”.
If there are any other AKGuy fans out there reading this, send Brandon that $5 Lawrence talked about… it would really make a big difference.
“How do we get a movement started to be able to recall Senator Cornyn?”
Repeal the 17th Amendment and the state legislature does the rest.
In other Super Tuesday news; Harris County DA arrives at poll to find out someone else voted for her. Kim Ogg then complains to the Harris County Clerk only to find out is Kim Ogg’s lesbian partner that voted in her name. I rather have Ogg than Teare and none of the above than either, but this little incident has so much fail in it all around.
How did Ogg’s partner vote for her when Texas has Voter ID? You are asked to verify the information is correct before signing and getting your ballot number, did Ogg’s attorney partner not read the information? Regardless, it seems Harris County election officials are careless in checking names, as the story blames it on Ogg and her partner sharing the same address, which is odd because they have completely different names.
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