Runoff primary elections were held in Texas on Tuesday night for several races that were proxy battles between controversial State Attorney General Ken Paxton and more traditional Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott. While the results in some state races favored Paxton-backed candidates, the night was mostly a success for Republicans more serious about governance than showmanship.
Paxton narrowly survived an impeachment attempt last year and has since promised vengeance against those who supported his removal from office. The impeachment was spearheaded by Republican Speaker of the House Dade Phelan, who had a difficult path to reelection against a Trump and Paxton-endorsed challenger this cycle. On Tuesday night, however, Phelan emerged victorious by a few hundred votes.
Former Majority Leader of the Texas House Craig Goldman, who also supported Paxton’s impeachment, similarly defeated business owner John O’Shea in the primary for Texas’s 12th Congressional District. In addition to Paxton, O’Shea had been endorsed by figures like Roger Stone and had attacked Goldman for his support of aid to Ukraine.
In the closest-watched race of the night, incumbent representative Tony Gonzales narrowly fended off a primary challenge from gun YouTuber Brandon Herrera in the state’s 23rd Congressional District. The Abbott-backed Gonzales had faced criticism from Herrera for his centrist voting record and support of certain gun control measures, while Gonzales criticized Herrera for promising to join the House Freedom Caucus if elected. While Gonzales had made some disingenuous attacks against Herrera, including calling him a “neo-Nazi,” the swing district likely would have turned blue if Herrera had been the nominee.
These electoral successes are a cautious victory for competence-minded Republicans. While Tuesday night’s results cannot be simply summed up as a rebuke of Ken Paxton or the House Freedom Caucus, the political unseriousness of both certainly played a role.
Looking back at Paxton’s acquittal, it is more likely that political pressures determined the outcome than his proclaimed innocence. Paxton had been scandal-plagued for nearly a decade and 70% of the Republicans in the state house voted for his impeachment before it was defeated in the state senate. It was only after the political winds shifted against his impeachment that it failed.
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As for the Freedom Caucus, the elections in Texas were just part of a trend of bad news for the group. Earlier this month, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) overwhelmingly defeated a Freedom Caucus-backed candidate, while former President Donald Trump recently endorsed a primary challenger to the chairman of the Freedom Caucus, Rep. Bob Good (R-VA). Moreover, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) is looking toward a tough race for reelection while Matt Gaetz continues to face regular controversies.
With the notable exception of Trump, Republican voters are choosing more conventionally conservative candidates when presented with the opportunity to. It seems that many Republicans are waking up to the fact that, after nearly a decade of interruption and infighting, the Freedom Caucus is little more than a sideshow. If the current trends continue for the GOP, this year’s congressional elections will not be a repeat of 2022’s failures, and candidate quality will be a major reason why.