Earlier this week, the former president and presumptive Republican nominee was slammed with a humiliating defeat in Texas, a development that is now “under the radar” as Thursday evening’s guilty verdict in the New York hush-money case is receiving the whole media attention. Trump, who slightly leads the presidential race, is experiencing a tough week that might have a huge impact on the November general election results, where he is going to face President Joe Biden.
Why does it matter
In the 2022 midterm elections, several candidates endorsed by former President Donald Trump for congressional and senatorial seats were defeated. Over a year and a half later, Trump faced another setback in Texas when his supported candidate lost in the Republican primary. The Associated Press reported that Texas State House Speaker Dade Phelan narrowly won a primary runoff against Trump-endorsed David Covey on Tuesday night. Trump had backed Covey after criticisms of Phelan for his role in last year’s impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton by the Texas House.
Mounting pressure from the party
The election result temporarily relieved Phelan from pressures within his party aimed at removing him from his leadership position. However, the future could still bring changes in the Texas Capitol. Phelan’s victory ensures he will be on the general election ballot for his district in southeast Texas, but the intense primary battle raises doubts about his ongoing leadership as speaker. During his election night celebration, Phelan called “a terrible, awful, knockdown, drag-out” fight and told supporters he will remain speaker.
Democrats to the rescue
Several well-known Republicans, such as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and Donald Trump, supported David Covey. Despite their endorsements, Covey could not overcome Texas State House Speaker Dade Phelan in the election. After Phelan’s victory announcement, both Covey and Paxton criticized him for appealing to Democrats to vote in the Republican primary, which helped him secure the win. Texas allows voters from any party to participate in its primaries, which is known as an open primary system.
“Dade Phelan may have won this election, but in doing so, he has irrevocably destroyed his already feeble legacy,” Covey said in a statement as reported by the Dallas Morning News. “Republicans must demand now that we close our primaries from Democrats.”
Trump endorsement before the voting didn’t help
“David Covey is running against Dade Phelan, the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, who led the Fraudulent Impeachment of the recently re-elected, in a landslide, Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “David is an America First Conservative who will Secure the Border, Restore Election Integrity, Protect our Families and Military/Vets, and Defend our under siege Second Amendment,” Trump added.
Phelan thankful to his supporters
Phelan, who came in a close second to Covey in the initial primary results in March, thanked his supporters for the “resounding victory” in the runoff on Tuesday night in a post to X, formerly Twitter.
“Tonight, I am immensely grateful to the voters of Southeast Texas, who have spoken loud and clear: in Southeast Texas, we set our own course—our community is not for sale, and our values are not up for auction,” Phelan wrote.
“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,” he added.
“Thank you, House District 21, for your confidence in me—I am honored to be your advocate and look forward to earning your vote once again in November,” he added. “Together, we move forward, focused, determined and stronger than ever.”
Tonight, I am immensely grateful to the voters of Southeast Texas, who have spoken loud and clear: in Southeast Texas, we set our own course—our community is not for sale, and our values are not up for auction. I owe a profound debt of gratitude to every voter and volunteer whose…
— Dade Phelan (@DadePhelan) May 29, 2024
