Roughly halfway through primary season, runoffs in Texas test 2 prominent Republicans
Austin, Texas — The 2024 primary season is about halfway through and there have been few upsets so far, with only one member of the U.S. House of Representatives defeated and incumbents prevailing in the Capitols.
But Tuesday’s elections in Texas are a test for two prominent Republicans: U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, who has broken ranks over guns and the border, and powerful state House Speaker Dade Phelan, who has led the hard right of angered the party over Texas’ impeachment. Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The fights to save their jobs have exposed the risks of dissent within the Republican Party and prompted both to return in races that have broken out into bitter and costly fights. A loss of Gonzales, his supporters warn, would give Democrats an opening to flip a traditionally moderate district in November, while a change in Texas House leadership could push the state’s policymaking even further to the right.
“You have to be a fighter,” said Bill Miller, a longtime Republican strategist in Texas. ‘It is expected. If you don’t want that, you’re an outcast.”
Other Texas runoffs are also drawing attention.
Katrina Pierson, a former spokeswoman for Donald Trump, is on the ballot for a state House seat near Dallas. Republican voters are also choosing a challenger to Democratic U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, who was indicted this month on conspiracy and bribery charges. Cuellar has said he is innocent.
Primary elections have eliminated only one member of the House of Representatives so far this year: Republican Rep. Jerry Carl of Alabama, who lost in an unusual primary to another incumbent, Rep. Barry Moore, after the state was forced to redraw congressional districts to share.
Gonzales, who received 45% of the vote after drawing five challengers in March, was tested in the primaries like few of his fellow Republicans. He is confronted by Brandon Herrera, a gun rights YouTube creator who calls himself “The AK Guy” in the neighborhood where the 2022 Uvalde school shooting occurred.
“The Texas state party has moved very far to the right, even further than where D.C. Republicans are now,” said Brian Smith, a professor of political science at St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas. He called the feuding within the Republican Party in Texas “a battle for the soul of the party.”
Gonzales has the support of party heavyweights, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, and shrugged off a rare rebuke from the state party last year. The censure followed votes he cast in favor of protecting same-sex marriage at the federal level and a bipartisan gun safety bill after the Uvalde school massacre.
“My voting results on the Constitution are very strong,” the 20-year Navy veteran said in April. “I swore an oath to the Constitution at the age of 18. And I never stopped doing that. … We can protect the Constitution and we can protect our children. It doesn’t have to be either/or.”
Herrera has blasted Gonzales on social media, calling his campaign “desperate.”
“It’s funny that three months ago I was ‘just a YouTuber’ and ‘not a serious candidate,’” Herrera posted on X, noting that Johnson attended a fundraiser for Gonzales. “If your enemies are circling the wagons, it’s usually not a sign that they’re winning.”
At the state level, Phelan’s two sessions as leader of the chamber would generally be seen as a boon for conservatives.
Since 2021, Texas has passed some of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws, supported Abbott’s anti-immigration measures, banned gender-affirming medical care for minors and eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion programs in higher education.
But like Gonzales, Phelan was also condemned by the state party for a “lack of fidelity to Republican principles and priorities.” Hardline Republicans have been targeting him since the House of Representatives voted to impeach Paxton last year, setting up a Senate trial that ended in Paxton’s acquittal.
Paxton led an initial effort to oust Phelan, who finished a close second to oil and gas consultant David Covey. That means Phelan faces an uphill climb to clinch the nomination, with a loss rocking the party leadership in the Capitol.