TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – Recently, one of the more impactful elections in Texas took place, and you didn’t even get a chance to vote in it.
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan very narrowly won re-election in his home area of Beaumont, defeating former Orange County Republican chairman David Covey. Again, these are people and geographies that typically aren’t high on the radar for election interest in our area.
But with Dade Phelan winning re-election, he probably secured his role as Speaker of the House for another session. And that is probably a good thing. Phelan was in a battle to retain his seat after supporting the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton and after a fallout in his relationship with Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick.
It was an uphill battle as endorsements came in for Covey from former President Trump, as well. Millions of dollars were spent by both sides as the race came down to several hundred votes of separation. The oddity in this race was that it was a battle between Republicans, an incumbent that was labeled as not conservative enough and a first-time candidate.
It was also an example of the on-going struggle in Texas between two conservative philosophies. Phelan had some big-time backers on his side, and they prevailed for now. But the Republican party is further bruised through this and other races and if there isn’t some kind of unifying force in the near future, the door will be open for forces who truly don’t represent Texans to gain ground and influence in the state.
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