AG Paxton Impeachment: The Aftermath Part 3
This is the third article in a three-part series on the aftermath of Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial.
AG Paxton submits President Trump's official candidate filing paperwork at Republican Party of Texas Headquarters in Austin with Congressman Ronny Jackson and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.
November 19, 2023 | Austin, TX
by Jon Bouché, Vice Chairman, Montgomery County Republican Party
After Attorney General Ken Paxton was exonerated in his Texas Senate impeachment trial on September 16, the so-called whistleblowers immediately petitioned to reactivate their lawsuit before the Texas Supreme Court, and AG Paxton went to work recruiting people to run against Speaker of the House Dade Phelan, his so called “Dirty Dozen,” and any other House members who followed Phelan over the cliff and voted for impeachment.
AG Paxton’s Endorsements
The first test to see if AG Paxton’s endorsement carried any significant weight was in the November 7 Special Election to fill the House District 2 seat that was vacated by Bryan Slaton in the wake of the sexual assault allegations against him.
The Paxton endorsed candidate, Brent Money, received 33.24% of the vote in a race with five candidates, four of those being Republicans. Finishing second was Jill Dutton with 22.90% of the vote. Money was able to finish first despite Dutton having more than a 2-1 advantage in fundraising. About 90% of Dutton’s money came from Texans for Lawsuit Reform and the Associated Republicans of Texas, which many grassroots Conservatives consider RINO PACs.
Money’s primary donor is the Conservative group Defend Texas Liberty PAC, which has been under constant attack by Speaker Phelan and his allies ever since AG Paxton’s acquittal in the Senate.
In a recent interview, AG Paxton stated that he believes President Trump will be endorsing candidates for the Texas House who are running against those House members who voted to impeach him.
Challengers to Speaker Phelan’s “Dirty Dozen”
Here is the list of those who have announced that they are running against Phelan and his “Dirty Dozen.” As of this writing, only Todd Hunter (HD 32) and Ken King (HD 88) had not drawn an opponent.
Dade Phelan, Speaker (HD 21) – David Covey and Alicia Davis
Craig Goldman (HD 2) – Not running again. Running for Kay Granger’s seat in the U.S. Congress.
Jacey Jetton (HD 26) – Matt Morgan
Todd Hunter (HD 32) – NO Challenger
Justin Holland (HD 33) – Dennis London
Andrew Murr (HD 53) – Wes Virdell
Glenn Rogers (HD 60) – Mike Olcott
Lynne Stuckey (HD 64) – Andy Hopper
Jeff Leach (HD 67) – Daren Meis
Dustin Burrows (HD 83) – Wade Cowan
Ken King (HD 88) – NO Challenger
Stephanie Klick (HD 91) – David Lowe
Charlie Geren (HD 99) – Jack Reynolds
Speaker Phelan Retaliates Again
House Speaker Phelan, who is receiving all kinds of negative attention and calls to resign, is struggling to regain his footing and is obviously still upset over AG Paxton’s criticisms of him and his call for him to resign.
On October 25, during Special Legislative Session 3, AG Paxton was visiting the House when Speaker Phelan ordered the Sergeant at Arms to remove the Attorney General from the House Chambers. AG Paxton is not only a statewide official, but he is also a former member of the House, so the move by Speaker Phelan was viewed by many as petty.
House District 15 Representative Steve Toth made a short video from the House floor in which he said, “Dade Phelan is doubling down on stupid. We had Ken Paxton over in the House today to say hello and to look at legislation that we’re moving through the House, and Dade Phelan actually sent the Sergeant at Arms to kick the Attorney General out of the Texas House.”
AG Paxton Sues Biden Administration Over Border Barrier
But the good news is, AG Paxton is back to work fighting for Texas. On October 24, he filed suit against the Biden Administration over the destruction of the Texas border barrier.
“Texas has the sovereign right to construct border barriers to prevent the entry of illegal aliens,” said AG Paxton. “Americans across the country were horrified to watch Biden’s open-border policy in action: agents were physically cutting wires and assisting the aliens’ entry into our state. This is illegal. It puts our country and our citizens at risk. The courts must put a stop to it, or Biden’s free-for-all will make this crushing immigration crisis even worse.”
On October 30, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against the Biden Administration for cutting the razor wire placed along the border. This was another big win for AG Paxton and Texas.
A Challenger for Hegar?
Meanwhile, AG Paxton is still trying to recover back pay which Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar withheld when the Texas House moved to impeach AG Paxton. Because of Hegar’s very questionable behavior in using his position to go after Paxton, one could very safely assume that Hegar will also have a challenger when he is up for re-election. And don’t be surprised if that challenger is also endorsed by President Trump.
Conservatives Must Remove the RINOs
Texas Conservatives are engaged in a pitched battle for Texas and they are up against the usual coalition of RINOs and Democrats. Only this time, it seems like more Conservatives across Texas are waking up and are no longer buying the “we are all Republicans” argument from the Trojan Horse Republicrats within our party who are working hand in hand with the Democrats to destroy the Republican Party and turn our state “blue.”
The RINOs are a bigger threat than the Democrats in Texas right now. Conservatives across the state had better take notice and address this at the local level if we have any chance of saving Texas. And Phelan and his “Dirty Dozen” are a good place to start that purge.
