The Associated Press is projecting that Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan will win the Republican primary runoff election against David Covey.
Phelan’s victory in a state congressional district east of Houston is seen as a political setback for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, former President Donald Trump and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Phelan oversaw the effort to impeach Paxton on corruption charges last year after the controversial attorney general was overwhelmingly impeached by the House and Paxton was acquitted by the state Senate.
Controversial move: PM Abbott pardons Army sergeant who killed BLM protester
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (left) and Governor Greg Abbott converse during the opening day of the 88th Texas Legislature session, Jan. 10, 2023, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
Mr Paxton responded by targeting Mr Phelan and more than 30 other Republican incumbent state legislators. Mr Trump, Mr Paxton’s strongest ally, has endorsed Mr Covey.
Meanwhile, Governor Abbott was seeking revenge for the state Assembly’s defeat last year of his education plan that would have allowed taxpayer money to flow to private schools. His flagship legislative agenda, an education voucher bill, passed the state Senate last year but was defeated in the Assembly, a rare political setback for the three-term governor.
Get the latest FOX News 2024 primary election results here
Nine Republican state legislators were defeated in the state’s March primary and eight more advanced to runoff elections — all of whom were targeted by either Mr. Abbott or Mr. Paxton or both the governor and attorney general.
Former President Trump speaks at the National Rifle Association convention in Dallas on Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
“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 last week.
Click here to get the FOX News app
“Ken Paxton and [Lt. Gov.] “To them, Dan Patrick and his surrogate Donald Trump must be trying to remove someone who led the impeachment against Ken Paxton and got in the way of Dan Patrick’s agenda in the Senate. All of these factors combine to be very powerful forces that the Speaker must overcome,” he stressed.
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, oversees a vote on the House floor, Wednesday, May 5, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The race was also seen as a proxy war for the future of the Republican Party in Texas.
Phelan was supported by conservative Republicans and conservative-leaning business leaders who helped establish Republican power in Texas in the 1980s and 1990s, while Covey was backed by Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, Paxton and Trump, as well as far-right activists who focused on social and cultural issues.
Had Phelan lost, he would have become the first Texas House speaker to lose a primary in more than half a century.
Get the latest 2024 campaign updates, exclusive interviews and more on Fox News Digital’s Election Hub.
