BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) — Republican Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan wins primary runoff.
Phelan, who finished second in March to challenger David Covey, a former local party chairman and oil and gas consultant who was backed by Trump, rallied to scrape out the primary win Tuesday.
Phelan’s victory at least temporarily staved off a push from Paxton and others to force him out of his leadership role in the state’s dominant party. But a shakeup in the Texas Capitol could still lay ahead.
While the win keeps Phelan on the general election ballot in his southeast Texas district, the bruising primary fight leaves questions about his ability to retain the speakership.
At his election night party, Phelan declared victory in what he called “a terrible, awful, knockdown, drag-out” fight and told supporters he will remain speaker.
“I think this runoff did me a favor,” Phelan said. “It let my voters know what my real record is.”
The race was a snapshot of fractures within the GOP nationally. Phelan, who has been speaker since 2021, came under fire after his chamber voted last year to impeach Paxton on bribery and corruption charges. Paxton was later acquitted in the state Senate.
Phelan presided over votes that enacted some of the toughest anti-abortion laws in the country, vastly expanded gun rights, supported Abbott’s highly visible anti-immigration platforms and curtailed LGBTQ+ rights.
After Phelan declared victory, Covey and Paxton accused him of attracting Democrats to vote for him in the Republican primary and push him over the top. Texas has an open primary system, meaning voters can cross party lines to vote.
“Dade Phelan may have won this election, but in doing so, he has irrevocably destroyed his already feeble legacy,” Covey said.
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