Ken Paxton wants revenge on impeachment supporters, but Greg Abbott stands in his way

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott greets state Rep. Jeff Leach during a campaign event on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, in McKinney, Texas.

Wearing jeans and tan cowboy boots, Attorney General Ken Paxton thanked a roomful of voters for helping to save his job, then asked them to drive out House Republicans who voted last year to impeach him.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott addresses supporters during at a campaign event for state Rep. Matt Shaheen on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024, in Frisco.

“You let your voice be heard, and by the grace of God I’m here today,” Paxton said at a recent political rally, telling the crowd of about 100 at Collin College in Wylie that their work was not yet done.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton talks with Texas Court of Criminal Appeals candidate Lee Finley after addressing Collin County Republicans on behalf of Texas House candidate Abraham George during a campaign rally on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, in Wylie.

“This matters more than anything I’ve ever done, that we win these races and that we win the Texas House,” he said.

Paxton’s quest has been described as a revenge tour, but to succeed in ridding the House of Republicans who supported impeachment, he has to go through Gov. Greg Abbott.

Paxton has endorsed the primary opponents of 20 GOP House incumbents who voted to impeach him. Abbott, operating under different priorities, is backing at least 17 incumbents on Paxton’s target list.

Their biggest clash centers in Collin County, where Paxton is trying to oust the GOP’s entire five-member delegation to the Legislature in the March 5 primary. Abbott has asked voters to return four of the five to the House.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a campaign event for state Rep. Jeff Leach, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, in McKinney, Texas.

The conflicting endorsements reflect contrasting goals.

Abbott, who has endorsed about 60 GOP House candidates, wants to retool the House to add supporters for his school choice plan, which has been thwarted by mainly rural Republicans and Democrats.

“A win for Abbott is to show strong support from people who support him on very specific issues like school choice,” said Dallas-based conservative radio talk show host Mark Davis. “The Paxton definition of success is to exact a political death toll for the people who came after him.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton addresses Collin County Republicans on behalf of Texas House candidate Abraham George during a campaign rally on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, in Wylie.

On Feb. 6, Abbott stopped in McKinney — Paxton’s hometown — asking voters to rally behind GOP House incumbent Jeff Leach, once a Paxton friend whom the attorney general badly wants to defeat. Leach urged senators to remove Paxton as unfit for office during closing arguments at September’s impeachment trial.

Where Paxton sees an opponent, Abbott sees a like-minded Republican.

“He’s a powerful conservative leader that I need back in Austin to work side-by-side with me to keep Texas the No. 1 state in the United States of America,” Abbott said of Leach.

The split endorsements are part of a rollicking primary season that has some of the biggest names in Republican Party politics choosing sides, including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, former Gov. Rick Perry and former President Donald Trump.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton addresses Collin County Republicans on behalf of Texas House candidate Abraham George during a campaign rally on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, in Wylie.

Political observers say they need a scorecard to keep track.

“We need to diagram these races between people that are not for school choice, people who voted for impeachment and all the other subplots,” said Austin-based lobbyist Bill Miller. “It’s just a mess. I’ve never seen such a cross-section of interests and opposition.”

Letting their endorsements do the talking, Abbott and Paxton have not criticized each other’s efforts.

Asked after the Wylie rally if he was worried about Abbott standing in the way of his pursuit of retribution, Paxton told The Dallas Morning News: “I’m not afraid of anything. I’m not afraid of anybody else.”

“It’s very important to me that we elect the right people, and right now the members of the Collin County delegation are some of the worst representatives from Collin County I’ve ever seen,” he added.

State Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, who is unopposed in the March 5 primary, predicted most incumbents would win reelection. Patterson voted to impeach Paxton and supported Abbott’s school-choice plan.

“We’ve got a lot of great members that can run on a deeply conservative record,” Patterson said. “We don’t always agree on every single issue, but we’ve got a lot of great members that need to come back to the Texas House because they’re with us on 99% or 98% of every conservative issue that’s out there.”

Abbott and Paxton agree on eight House candidates, including former Greenville city attorney Brent Money against former Van ISD school board member Jill Dutton.

Their March 5 primary contest will take place five weeks after Dutton, who was endorsed by Perry, defeated Money in a special election for a House vacancy created when Rep. Bryan Slaton was ousted last year for inappropriate sexual conduct with a 19-year-old aide.

Paxton: ‘We’re going to win them’

Last May, 60 House Republicans joined 61 Democrats in voting to approve articles of impeachment centered largely on Paxton’s relationship with Austin real estate investor Nate Paul.

Paxton asked the Legislature to pay $3.3 million to settle a lawsuit by former employees who were fired after reporting Paxton to law enforcement for allegedly misusing his office to benefit Paul, who was under federal investigation. The payment request prompted a House committee to investigate the misconduct allegations, leading to Paxton’s impeachment.

After senators voted largely along party lines for acquittal — only two of 19 Republicans supported removing Paxton from office — the attorney general and his supporters vowed revenge.

Paxton followed by touring the state with a slate of challengers to House incumbents who voted to impeach him, including a January campaign stop in Beaumont in support of David Covey, the Trump-endorsed candidate seeking to unseat House Speaker Dade Phelan.

In Collin County, Paxton has endorsed Abraham George over Rep. Candy Noble, Wayne Richard over Rep. Matt Shaheen, Daren Meis over Leach, Chuck Branch and Keresa Richardson over Rep. Frederick Frazier, and former Trump campaign national spokesperson Katrina Pierson over Rep. Justin Holland.

Abbott has endorsed four of the incumbents Paxton is targeting, but he is not backing Holland, who voted against his school choice proposal.

At the Wylie rally for George, Paxton argued that the outnumbered Democrats control the Texas House and blamed the situation on Phelan, R-Beaumont, Republican political consultant Karl Rove and the conservative Texans for Lawsuit Reform. In 2022, Texans for Lawsuit Reform backed former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman against Paxton in the GOP primary for attorney general.

“We’re going to win them,” Paxton told The News about the five Collin County seats he’s trying to capture. “I live in Collin County, and my job is to make sure that the best people get elected here.”

Many in the Wylie crowd were drawn to the rally by Paxton, who was temporarily suspended as attorney general after he was impeached.

“They cheated him out of his salary. They cheated him out of his dignity. They ruined his reputation,” said Cynthia Brugge, a realtor who lives in Wylie.

Brugge called the impeachment of Paxton a flawed process, echoing arguments made by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick after the attorney general’s acquittal.

“This was an undercurrent of assault on our power as people,” she said. “We are the ones who elect our representatives.”

In addition to targeting impeachment supporters, Paxton is asking voters to unseat three incumbents on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

He’s backing Lee Finley against Judge Michelle Slaughter, Gina Parker against Judge Barbara Hervey and David Schenck against Presiding Judge Sharon Keller on the state’s highest criminal court.

The three incumbents joined a 2021 decision that blocked the attorney general’s office from unilaterally prosecuting voter fraud, ruling that the Texas Constitution assigned that power to local prosecutors.

“Now I can’t prosecute voter fraud,” Paxton said at the Wylie rally. “That’s why I’m traveling the state because I think this matters more than anything I’ve ever done. If we can’t prosecute voter fraud, what happened in Georgia, what happened in Wisconsin, what happened in Michigan will happen here.”

Shortly after the 2020 election, Paxton asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s victories in the three states and Pennsylvania, arguing Texas had proof of widespread voter fraud in the swing states.

The court quickly rejected Paxton’s petition, and the State Bar of Texas sued to censure Paxton, saying he lied to the court about having proof of substantial fraud. A Paxton appeal seeks to dismiss the bar’s lawsuit.

Abbott: ‘Build a conservative bulwark’

On the campaign trail, the governor touts the success of Texas, battles against the “woke agenda” and his ongoing border security efforts and related conflict with President Biden.

“Jeff (Leach) and I are working together to make sure that we build a conservative bulwark to maintain the protection and the advancement of the freedom and opportunity that we know are here in the great state of Texas,” Abbott said during the McKinney rally.

The governor wants more House Republicans who support his goal of allowing families to use taxpayer money to help pay the cost of attending private school. That voucher-like program was blocked last year in the Texas House by a coalition of Democrats and 16 mainly rural Republicans.

“I packaged together a bill that combined $6 billion more for public education, teacher pay raises and getting rid of the STAAR test, along with giving parents the right to choose the school best for them,” Abbott said.

“There were all the Democrats and just a handful of Republicans who denied that bill from going forward,” Abbott added. “I’m going to work with Jeff, and when we get back we’re going to have some other new Republicans in office, and the Texas House of Representatives will get that passed to better fund our schools and to better empower all parents in the state of Texas to choose the school that’s best for your child.”

School choice isn’t the only reason Abbott is involved in House races, said Dave Carney, his chief political strategist.

“We have a lot of issues that took forever to get passed,” Carney said. “How does it take three sessions to pass an $18 million property tax cut?”

“It wasn’t willy-nilly,” Carney said of Abbott’s endorsements. “The people we chose were those who we knew after meeting with and looking into who is the best candidate. We had a list of those willing to support the governor and those willing to stab the governor in the back.”

Paxton is rarely mentioned at Abbott’s rallies, but some of the attendees know what’s at stake.

Fairview Mayor Henry Lessner said he supported Paxton, once his estate planning lawyer, during the attorney general’s rise to power.

It’s different now.

“Ken Paxton has kind of gone over the hill, and his attraction to Trump has corrupted his mind and it’s time for him to leave,” he said. “I admire what the five Republican representatives from Collin County did in voting to impeach him.”

He added: “I will not vote for the retribution candidates.”

All endorsements are not equal

At the start of January, Abbott’s campaign account had $38 million available to boost House candidates who back school choice. Carney said Abbott is spending some of that money on digital ads in about 30 districts.

“We’re going to spend what it takes to get the job done,” Carney said. “We’re not going to win every race, but I think we’re going to win enough.”

It’s unlikely that Abbott will drain his large campaign fund on backing House candidates. He has the option of spending the money on ads and direct mail, and he can provide in-kind contributions like paying for polling or get-out-the-vote efforts.

A complete look at his spending won’t be known until campaign disclosure reports are released, but the bulk of Abbott’s support could be the time he spends headlining rallies for candidates he’s endorsed.

Beyond money, Abbott’s star power shines brighter than Paxton’s for candidate endorsements.

“Abbott’s approval ratings and the impact of his endorsement has a greater positive impact on Republican primary voters than a Paxton endorsement,” said Rice political scientist Mark Jones. “An Abbott endorsement generally comes with financial support that is greater than that of a Paxton-endorsed candidate.”

The governor’s rallies are generally well-attended, attracting about 500 people to Leach’s rally in McKinney and a similar crowd to a recent Shaheen event in Frisco.

His conservative message, particularly on border security, has wide appeal in the GOP primary. Several people who listened to the governor’s speeches say they do not have Paxton in mind when considering House candidates.

“I’m concerned about affordable housing and what can be done about the homeless,” said David Button, a Plano retiree who attended Abbott’s rally on behalf of Shaheen, R-Plano, who’s being challenged by Paxton-backed Richard, also of Plano.

“My top issue is border security,” Button said.

Paxton may not have Abbott-size money to dish to candidates, but he’s popular with grassroots activists who vote in GOP primaries.

A February poll by the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs found 46% of GOP primary voters would be less likely to vote for an incumbent House member who voted in favor of impeaching Paxton. Only 23% said they would support a House incumbent who voted for impeachment.

“You’ve got to realize that incumbents are going to be hard to beat, so if a Paxton challenger doesn’t beat an incumbent, that doesn’t mean that the Paxton challenge was of no value,” Davis said. “A lot of these races will be closer than they otherwise would have been.”

Abbott and Paxton have to make their endorsements mean more than just a name on campaign material, said Republican political consultant Matthew Langston.

“Endorsements are great, but if nobody knows about it, they don’t matter,” he said. “Having the ability to be right in front of a voter, which is the power of the governor right now, comes with a lot of benefits.”

“The power of Paxton is that he has been in the press,” Langston added. “The vast group of Republicans that are primary voters seem to feel that Paxton has been unfairly targeted, similar to Trump. And so does that power compete with money? We don’t know.”

In the end, candidates are responsible for their own success.

“The good news for Texas House Republicans is that we have so many legacy wins to run on and that it is going to be practically impossible to get to the right of pretty much any Republican member, because of the things that we passed the last two cycles under Speaker Phelan’s leadership,” Patterson said.

Outside help for Abbott

Abbott has additional help in his school choice crusade.

Last month, the School Freedom Fund — a pro-vouchers group that is part of the conservative Club for Growth — unleashed a $1.15 million television ad campaign targeting school-choice opponents in eight primary races. That came as another group, AFC Victory Fund, sent direct mail ads attacking incumbents on behalf of 13 primary challengers.

The biggest donor to these groups is Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass, who in December contributed $6 million to Abbott’s campaign.

The School Freedom Fund ads targeted Republican Reps. Gary VanDeaver of New Boston, Travis Clardy of Nacogdoches, Ernest Bailes of Shepherd, Hugh Shine of Temple, DeWayne Burns of Cleburne, Glenn Rogers of Graford, Reggie Smith of Sherman and Steve Allison of San Antonio.

Davis, the conservative radio talk show host, said there will always be the possibility of primary fights within the party in power.

“Texas will remain a dominantly red state, but it doesn’t mean that there won’t be room for the occasional … center-right establishment-flavored Republican,” Davis said. “The Texas House is a big place.”

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