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Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton waged parallel crusades against Texas House Republicans this primary season.
After a bloc of Republicans joined with Democrats to kill Abbott’s priority school voucher legislation, the governor vowed revenge. He spent generously and campaigned aggressively against those anti-voucher Republicans in an effort to replace them with members who would support the measure next year.
Similarly, Paxton took aim at every Republican who voted to impeach him on charges of bribery and corruption. He was ultimately acquitted by the Senate. Paxton leaned on his far-right allies, including West Texas oil billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, to attack his enemies and prop up ultra-conservative challengers.
Incumbent Republicans under attack defended their votes during the legislative session, saying they’d done right by their districts and passed some of the most conservative bills in House history.
Here’s how the primaries shook out.
We’ve added new speakers to the stellar lineup of leaders, lawmakers and newsmakers hitting the stage at The Texas Tribune Festival, happening Sept. 5–7 in downtown Austin. Get an up-close look at today’s biggest issues at Texas’ breakout politics and policy event!