In a runoff election held on Tuesday, Texas Rep. Craig Goldman won the Republican nomination for the 12th Congressional District, the seat vacated by Rep. Kay Granger’s retirement, according to the Associated Press.
Goldman won the runoff election after neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote in the March primary. Granger has held the seat since 1997 but is retiring at the end of his term.
The race illustrated a divide in the state’s Republican Party, with O’Shea positioning himself as an “America First” candidate and touting the support of Trump allies including Attorney General Ken Paxton, Roger Stone and Gen. Michael Flynn.
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced the future of Texas’ space industry in 2024 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on March 26, 2024. (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)
“I am honored to endorse John O’Shea in Texas’ 12th District. John is a friend who I know to be a dedicated husband and father who puts family, faith and country first,” Paxton said in a statement endorsing the candidate.
O’Shea argued that the United States has “many higher priority issues that we must address to ensure the safety of our people before we can focus on other international issues.”
Meanwhile, Goldman, a five-generation Texan, had the backing of Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan, who voted to impeach Paxton in 2023. He had promised to be a “conservative fighter who will put border security and the American taxpayer first.”
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The split shows state Rep. Craig Goldman on the left and businessman John O’Shea on the right. (Congressional candidate Craig Goldman and Congressional candidate John O’Shea)
O’Shea used his vote to impeach Paxton to attack his opponent.
“There’s an intraparty war going on in Texas,” O’Shea told The Texas Tribune in April. “I like to describe it as the America First side, the Paxton side, and the establishment side, the Phelan side. We have candidates who represent both sides. The choice is clear. Now you have a chance to choose.”
Goldman disputes the claim that he is less conservative than O’Shea, arguing that he has a proven conservative voting record.
“That’s the difference between John and me,” Goldman said during the April debate, according to KERA News.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC, November 1, 2021. (Drew Ungerer/Getty Images)
The winner of the Republican primary runoff will face off against Trey Hunt, a progressive activist and mental health professional who has been outspoken on homelessness. Hunt, who describes himself as “born and raised in southwest Fort Worth” on his campaign website, is running to promote “criminal justice reform,” “guarantee abortion rights” for women and other issues.
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Both Republican candidates have emphasized their commitment to combating illegal immigration in states that are on the front lines of the ongoing migrant crisis on the southern border, as well as their positions on abortion and Second Amendment rights.
This is one of many races in which Abbott and Paxton have chosen to run against each other; they have done so in five separate elections. Both lawmakers have issues to settle, with Paxton targeting Republicans who voted to impeach him last year on corruption charges and Abbott going after lawmakers who rejected his 2023 education plan. Abbott’s biggest legislative agenda last year, an education voucher bill, passed the state Senate but was defeated in the House in a rare political event. Setbacks for Abbott.
“This is a power struggle and it’s certainly a battle for the heart and soul of the Texas Republican Party. Governor Abbott wants to get legislators who support his policies,” Brendan Steinhauser, a veteran Texas-based Republican strategist, told Fox News.
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Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) leaves the House Republican Caucus meeting at the Capitol Hill Club on May 10, 2023 in Washington. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Granger endorsed Goldman for the seat, touting her credentials as a “staunch supporter of a strong national defense.”
Phelan is facing a challenge from oil and gas consultant David Covey in the 21st District. Phelan oversaw the impeachment effort against Paxton, for which he was later censured by the Texas Republican Party.
Fox News reporter Paul Steinhauser and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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