Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) emerged victorious in his primary runoff on Tuesday, narrowly defeating a conservative challenger who had received support from former President Trump, as projected by Decision Desk HQ.
Phelan gained national attention when he oversaw the impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) on abuse-of-office charges. Despite being an ally of former President Trump, Paxton was acquitted by the state Senate. However, this trial highlighted the deep divisions within the Texas Republican Party, with Trump supporters clashing with the party’s established members.
The Texas GOP criticized Phelan, stating that he should feel embarrassed for subjecting the state of Texas to a political sham of an impeachment. Former President Trump showed his support by endorsing conservative activist David Covey as a candidate to challenge Phelan, citing his involvement in what he deemed a fraudulent impeachment.
Paxton criticized Phelan and “the Austin establishment” in a post on the social platform X, portraying the runoff races as acts of retaliation for both Paxton and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R). Abbott was also focusing on state-level Republicans who opposed his school voucher program. In the primaries, nine Texas GOP lawmakers were defeated, and eight others were pushed into runoffs.
Phelan characterized the race as “the battle for the soul of our district” after his March 5 primary transformed into a runoff.
