{"id":2251553,"date":"2024-05-23T18:48:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T22:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-power-put-to-the-test-with-bitter-fight-in-blood-red-texas\/"},"modified":"2024-05-23T18:52:20","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T22:52:20","slug":"trumps-power-put-to-the-test-with-bitter-fight-in-blood-red-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-power-put-to-the-test-with-bitter-fight-in-blood-red-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump&#8217;s authority challenged in fierce battle in deeply conservative Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrumps-power-put-to-the-test-with-bitter-fight-in-blood-red-texas%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2251553&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Texas Republicans \u200bare embroiled in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/seventy-percent-of-voters-believe-biden-has-hurt-economy-or-left-it-unchanged-poll\/\" title=\"Seventy percent of voters believe Biden has hurt economy or left it unchanged: Poll\">internal \u2063strife<\/a> as\u2063 Governor \u2063Abbott and \u2062Attorney General Ken Paxton vie for a rightward shift in the party. House Speaker Dade Phelan&#8217;s impeachment of Paxton, backed by former President Trump, sparks a high-stakes primary battle against David Covey. The\u2063 race, \u200dfueled\u2063 by $6.9 million \u2062in spending, highlights contrasting \u2063conservative \u2063ideologies\u200b within the \u200dparty. Texas Republicans find themselves\u200d in a tumultuous \u200dinternal conflict as Governor \u200dAbbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton push for a more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-york-times-harry-reid-dropped-support-for-restricting-immigration-for-political-reasons\/\" title=\"New York Times: Harry Reid Dropped Support for Restricting Immigration for Political Reasons\">conservative stance<\/a> \u200bwithin the party. \u200cThe impeachment of \u200bPaxton by House Speaker Dade Phelan, endorsed \u2063by former \u200bPresident\u200b Trump,\u2062 triggers a significant\u200b primary challenge from\u200c David Covey. This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/voters-head-to-polls-in-herschel-walker-raphael-warnock-georgia-senate-runoff\/\" title=\"Voters Head to Polls in Herschel Walker-Raphael Warnock Georgia Senate Runoff\">high-stakes race<\/a>, marked \u2064by substantial spending, underscores the divergent conservative views prevalent within the party.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/texas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Texas<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republicans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Republicans<\/a> are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2901127\/texas-republicans-wage-intraparty-war-state-braces-for-painful-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>continuing to fight<\/a> one another as Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) and Attorney General <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ken-paxton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Ken Paxton<\/a> look to move the party further to the right. <\/p>\n<p>Republican Speaker of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/texas-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Texas House<\/a> Dade Phelan has a deep political history of advocating and passing GOP-led bills, but his impeachment of Paxton (on accusations of bribery, dereliction of duty, and disregard of official duty) has angered the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fncs-dean-msm-coverage-of-cuomo-was-puff-pieces-while-there-were-bodybags-piling-up\/\" title=\"FNC's Dean: MSM Coverage of Cuomo Was 'Puff Pieces' While 'There Were Bodybags Piling up'\">attorney general\u2019<\/a>s allies, including former President Donald Trump. Now Phelan is facing a primary challenger ahead of a runoff <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2024\/04\/26\/texas-voting-2024-runoff-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>election on May 28<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Republican voters are set to decide whether Phelan, who has been speaker since 2021 and in the Texas House since 2015, or challenger David Covey will better suit them. It\u2019s set to be the most expensive race in Texas legislative history, with $6.9 million spent so far on the candidates, per advertising analytics firm <a href=\"https:\/\/adimpact.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AdImpact<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Covey, who has received a critical endorsement from Trump, is a 34-year-old energy consultant and former congressional aide who<a href=\"https:\/\/www.semafor.com\/article\/05\/21\/2024\/a-top-republicans-lonely-stand-against-donald-trumps-texas-takeover\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title> has not previously<\/a> sought elected office, according to <em>Semafor<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe establishment leaders told me I didn\u2019t have a chance,\u201d he said, \u201cbut the voters kept saying, \u2018No, we actually want a conservative.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Phelan himself is quite conservative. In his time as speaker, he has passed legislation that effectively banned abortion in the state, let Texas police arrest illegal immigrants, and allowed Texans to carry guns without permits. His impeachment into Paxton, <a href=\"https:\/\/abc13.com\/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-support-donald-trump-hush-money-trial\/14747184\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>a Trump ally<\/a>, however, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2024\/01\/30\/donald-trump-texas-house-dade-phelan-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>sealed the deal<\/a> for Trump. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cTexans are tired of Phelan\u2019s weak RINO leadership in the State House,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have voted for President Trump twice, and I plan on voting for him a third time,\u201d Phelan said in response. \u201cTrump himself has stated he does not know me, nor does he know my record of fighting for southeast Texans. Unfortunately, my opponents have sought this endorsement in yet another attempt to get retribution against me for holding public officials accountable and defending the Texas House against outside interests.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The election is going to be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/2942562\/freedom-caucus-chairman-bob-good-on-the-rocks-with-trump-and-his-conference\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>one test of many<\/a> on how far a Trump endorsement can take a candidate in the face of an incumbent. Phelan has easily won his district for about a decade leading up to this battle. <\/p>\n<p>Covey has received nearly half a million dollars from a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2024\/01\/24\/tim-dunn-farris-wilks-defend-texas-liberty-nick-fuentes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>new political action committee<\/a> supported by oil billionaire Tim Dunn as well as close to a million dollars from the Club for Growth, an economic conservative organization. Phelan said PACs and wealthy donors backing Covey are lying about his position as a Republican. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou wanna talk about the Second Amendment? You wanna talk about pro-life issues? You wanna talk about border security? You wanna talk about election integrity?\u201d Phelan asked a crowd at a rally this week. \u201cNo one\u2019s done more than Dade Phelan has. No one! Zero!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry came to Phelan\u2019s defense at the rally. He asked voters in southeast Texas to think about why they would want to eject \u201cthe only speaker you\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf this was the most conservative session in Texas history, why are we going through this process to get rid of one of the three legs of that most conservative session?\u201d Perry asked. \u201cSomething else is going on here.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Texas Republicans clash as Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton push for a rightward shift. House Speaker Dade Phelan, known for GOP support, impeaches Paxton on bribery charges, fueling party tensions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2910,"featured_media":2251554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/dade-phelan.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2251553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/dade-phelan.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2251553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2251553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2251553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2251554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2251553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2251553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2251553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}