Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, left, and Gov. Greg Abbott, right, talk during a swearing in ceremony on the first day of the 88th Texas Legislative Session in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023.
Gov. Greg Abbott speaks on the north steps of the State Capitol to supporters at a Texas Public Policy Foundation Parent Empowerment rally on March 21, 2023 in Austin. Abbott and his supporters were pushing to have a voucher system, also known as school choice.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb. 23.
Texas oil tycoons Tim Dunn, left, and Farris Wilks, right, have financed conservative candidates for years, donating the bulk of the money for Ted Cruz’s 2016 bid for the GOP nomination for president.
The Republican Party activists are ready to test their brand’s limit in Texas.
For decades, they have pushed Republican elected officials to move further to the right. They have largely succeeded in changing conservative orthodoxy and how the public perceives politicians.
Not long ago, Republicans could support abortion rights, oppose the open carry of handguns, support local schools and demand ethical behavior. Not anymore. The most dedicated 20% of Republican voters bagged a dozen RINOs, and they are targeting more.
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I miss the old-school conservatives that today’s crowd calls Republican in Name Only. I hope the reasonable wing will take their party back, but they may need to abandon it for a while to succeed.
Party leaders historically do not interfere when an incumbent is running for reelection. However, this year, Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick decided to purge their ranks of anyone questioning their agenda. Obedience to the leaders is paramount.
The governor targeted 15 GOP state representatives. He defeated seven, while four others survived. Four face runoff races in May.
Paxton campaigned against state representatives who impeached him on corruption charges last year. He was less successful than Abbott but knocked out three top criminal court judges who defied his attempts to expand his powers.
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Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan achieved a hat-trick by angering Abbott, Paxton and Patrick. Now he’s in a runoff to keep his seat, the first speaker to face such a challenge since 1972.
Many people mistake politicians for leaders, but most are approval seekers who, like everyone else, want to keep their jobs. In a functioning democracy, they stay in office by representing the people who elected them. Not in Texas.
Democracy tends to break down when one party dominates, and patronage becomes more important than votes. When districts are drawn to guarantee victory for a party in the general election, and only the most extreme 20% of party members participate in the primaries, broad public approval is unimportant.
Pleasing your party’s patrons becomes critical, lest they turn against you.
Oil billionaire Tim Dunn has led the financing of Texas’ most right-wing political activists for over 20 years. The groups have gone by many names: Empower Texans, Texas Scorecard, Defend Texas Liberty, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Hexagon Partners, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility and others.
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Dunn and his allies are unabashed Christian nationalists who believe the United States should follow the Bible and that only Christians should hold leadership positions. They oppose secular public schools, which they consider immoral, and they want to stop renewable energy, which challenges the source of their wealth.
Dunn’s operatives are the conservative movement’s knee-cappers, according to in-depth reporting by CNN and most recently by Texas Monthly. If a Republican politician does not march in lockstep with their agenda, these groups recruit a subservient candidate and launch a well-financed primary challenge.
Dunn financed Paxton’s longshot yet successful campaign to become attorney general against two more established but moderate candidates. When Abbott wouldn’t play ball, Dunn-backed groups financed Don Huffines, who forced Abbott to shift to the right.
When the Texas House impeached Paxton, Dunn gave $3 million to Patrick, who oversaw Paxton’s acquittal. Dunn’s donations have since helped Paxton and Patrick campaign against Republicans who impeached the attorney general, including Phelan.
Wall Street billionaire Jeff Yass gave Abbott $6 million to oust rural Republican lawmakers who opposed using taxpayer money to finance private schools. Those lawmakers instead represented their constituents’ desire for greater investment in public schools. But only a fifth of voters show up for the primaries.
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Hence, a test is coming in November. The Republican brand is strong with Texans, many of whom have never voted for a Democrat, but polls show the party is farther to the right than voters.
Most Texans support some gambling, marijuana and abortions. Most oppose book bans and support clean energy and some gun restrictions. Yet they vote based on their party identity.
I miss the Bush dynasty, former Gov. Rick Perry, retired state Sen. Kel Seliger and others who wanted to make Texas a better place to live, not a theocracy. Democracy is at its best when Republicans and Democrats debate and find common ground, not when they try to annihilate one another.
I expect most Republicans will stay true to their party in November. But when they do, they’ll vote for the oligarchs’ vision for the future, not their own.
Award-winning opinion writer Chris Tomlinson writes commentary about money, politics and life in Texas. Sign up for his “Tomlinson’s Take” newsletter at houstonhchronicle.com/tomlinsonnewsletter or expressnews.com/tomlinsonnewsletter.
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