Texas far-right conservatives spent millions to oust House GOP leaders, to little avail
by Patrick Svitek, Texas Tribune
A multimillion-dollar push to replace Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas House Republicans with more strident conservatives made little headway Tuesday in the primary election.
House Speaker Dade Phelan, whose allies were targeted, suffered no incumbent losses, and just a handful of members were forced into runoffs. Phelan, who did not draw an opponent, was overseeing his first primary behind the gavel after a year that brought redistricting and an ample supply of tension inside the party.
Voters across Texas delivered a resounding message Tuesday that the GOP represents their values up and down the ballot, Phelan said in a statement. He added that his teams hard work has paid off, despite the efforts of some out-of-touch groups that have spent millions in election after election and still dont have much to show for it.
It was overall a good night for the Republican establishment as most statewide officials won their primaries convincingly Attorney General Ken Paxton was the major exception and congressional leadership got their way in all but one primary. (U.S. Rep. Van Taylor of Plano got forced into a runoff, but the next day, he admitted to an affair and ended his campaign.)
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https://www.texastribune.org/2022/03/03/texas-conservatives-pac-house-primary/