Two state Republican party leaders, Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, endorsed different candidates in Texas House primary races on Tuesday.
The endorsements centered on two key issues: Paxton's impeachment by the House in May and Abbott's push for school choice.
Paxton backed the primary opponents of 20 Republican incumbents in the House, according to The Dallas Morning News, while Abbott endorsed 17 of those sitting members. Sixty Republicans joined 61 Democrats in voting for Paxton's impeachment.
Abbott didn't endorse as many candidates who didn't vote for school choice, instead opting to stay silent in several races.
In Paxton's home of Collin County, the attorney general endorsed challengers to five incumbent state representatives. Abbott backed four of those five incumbents and has not made an endorsement in District 33, which is represented by Rep. Justin Holland, who voted against school choice.
With 98% of the vote reported, Holland had received 39.2% of the vote, former campaign spokesperson for the Trump campaign Katrina Pierson had 38.8%, and Dennis London had 22%. Pierson was endorsed by Paxton.
Rep. Frederick Frazier trailed Paxton-backed Keresa Richardson 38.2% to 32.3% with 92% of the vote reported.
Rep. Candy Noble had garnered 53.6% of the vote compared to challenger Abraham George's 46.4% with 78.1% of ballots cast; Rep. Jeff Leach and Rep. Matt Shaheen each had more than 60% of the vote with more than 80% of precincts reporting.
A February poll conducted by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston found that Abbott's endorsement held more sway than Paxton's. Sixty-four percent of Republican primary voters said they would be "more likely" to vote for an Abbott-endorsed candidate, while just 40% said Paxton's backing had the same effect.
Sixty percent of Republican primary voters said they would be "less likely" to vote for a candidate who voted against school choice last year, while 46% answered in the same way about candidates who voted to impeach Paxton, the poll found.
Outside of North Texas, Paxton targeted Speaker of the House Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), endorsing challenger David Covey. Former President Donald Trump also backed Covey, while Abbott did not make an endorsement in the race. With 95% of precincts reporting, Phelan and Covey each had 45% of the vote.
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