Collin County House races at center of GOP turmoil between Gov. Abbott, AG Paxton
COLLIN COUNTY, Texas - Governor Greg Abbott was in Collin County on Wednesday, where we saw a "Republican civil war" unfolding.
The governor was campaigning for candidates who Attorney General Ken Paxton has targeted.
Early voting is here. And in a few weeks, the picture will become clear about the attitude of voters.
In Collin County, it’s not often a high-profile governor and high-profile attorney general from the same party are supporting different candidates.
Gov. Abbott was in Allen Wednesday urging people to vote early.
State representatives Matt Shaheen, Candy Noble and Jeff Leach all have the governor’s support.
"With these three reps, they go to Austin and vote for your values, for your family and your future to make sure you have a voice in Austin, Texas," Abbott said.
All three supported Abbott’s priority issue of school choice, and all of them voted to impeach Paxton last year.
Paxton has targeted these Republicans and others who supported the impeachment by endorsing their opponents.
With voting underway, it’s uncertain if the Paxton revenge tour will be enough to unseat multiple incumbents.
"This sets up a bit of a proxy fight between the more insurgent MAGA Paxton faction of the GOP and the somewhat more moderate faction of the GOP," explained SMU Political Scientist Matthew Wilson.
Ken Paxton targets Collin County Republicans who tried to impeach him
State Rep. Jeff Leach called Ken Paxton a friend and mentor. Now, Paxton is backing Leach's opponent as the attorney general targets Republicans in his home county who tried to impeach him.
Primary voters tend to be the most extreme, die-hard members of a political party. Those are the people Paxton is catering to.
It’s unclear if the weight of a popular governor stalls any traction of a mass unseating of incumbents.
"It will signal what the relative balance of power is between the MAGA faction and the more conservative faction," Wilson said.
Republicans tend to vote on Election Day, and Democrats tend to vote early.
Gov. Abbott said they need to flip the script and also vote early.
Time will tell which side voters take: Abbott or Paxton.