The House Speaker has faced backlash from GOP party members for allowing Democrats to head committees and pushing Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment.
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan pulled off a narrow win in Tuesday’s contentious GOP primary runoff against David Covey.
The hotly contested race split GOP supporters into two camps: those who backed Mr. Phelan’s push—alongside Democratic House members—to impeach Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton one year ago and those who did not.
Tuesday’s result was a reversal from March’s primary, when Mr. Covey received 46.3 percent of the vote to Mr. Phelan’s 43.3 percent, pushing the two Republicans into a runoff. A third candidate, Alicia Davis, received only 10.5 percent of the votes.
In his first run at elected office, Mr. Covey, a former Orange County Republican chair, drew strong endorsements from state and national GOP leaders, including former President Donald Trump, Mr. Paxton, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. But their backing still didn’t deliver the desired results at the polls earlier this week.
Meanwhile, Mr. Phelan gained endorsements from Republican strategist Karl Rove and former Republican leaders, including Texas’ longest-serving governor, Rick Perry, and former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
His win aligns him for a sixth term in the Texas House, as he has no Democratic opponent in the November general election. But whether he will continue as the House speaker for the 2025 legislative session is yet to be determined.
“With the conclusion of the runoff, my sights are now set firmly on the November election. I look forward to hitting the ground running to ensure the Texas House is best positioned for what promises to be another landmark conservative session, bolstered by as strong a Republican majority as possible,” Mr. Phelan said.
More than a dozen of the speaker’s GOP allies lost their bids for reelection, which could complicate his chances of maintaining his speakership position.
Reactions
Mr. Phelan’s victory sparked strong reactions from a number of his GOP foes.
Mr. Paxton claimed Mr. Phelan won the runoff with votes from Democrats.
“Texans, we can no longer ignore the betrayal we witnessed in this election,” he said in a news release Tuesday night. “Dade Phelan, in a desperate attempt to secure his political future, orchestrated a strategy that relied on Democrats voting for him in the Republican runoff. He knew he couldn’t win on his own merit, so he sought to bolster his chances by courting Democrat support in his district.
“The Covey campaign has identified at least 1,442 Democrats who voted early in Jefferson County, making up 20% of Jefferson County’s early vote numbers,” he continued. “Without Democrats, Dade never would have won.”
Mr. Paxton said it is time for Texas to end open primaries, which allow voters to cast their ballots without declaring party affiliation.
“We cannot stand idly by. We must close our primaries. Tonight, weak and liberal Republican incumbents lost across the State of Texas, but Democrats swooped in and saved Dade Phelan. This kind of underhanded manipulation cannot be tolerated. The Republican Party of Texas must take immediate action to secure our Republican primaries,” Mr. Paxton said.
Mr. Patrick also asserted that Mr. Phelan won with Democrat support.
“Dade won the Runoff by 366 votes out of 25,260 votes cast, with over 1,400 Democrats voting for him,” he continued. “Dade’s actions cost 15 Republican incumbents their reelection. He threw them under the bus, but he still wants to drive. That’s not leadership. That’s a debacle!”
Mr. Paxton also issued a warning to Republican House members who plan to support Mr. Phelan as speaker in the next legislative session.
“My message to Austin is clear: to those considering supporting Dade Phelan as Speaker in 2025, ask your 15 colleagues who lost re-election how they feel about their decision now,” Mr. Paxton said. “You will not return if you vote for Dade Phelan again.”
