Abbott Puts Paxton Relationship at Risk
with Vigorous Pitch for House Republican
Capitol Inside
November 28, 2023
Governor Greg Abbott added insult to injury on Tuesday when he served up a glowing endorsement for State Rep. Jeff Leach - an Allen Republican who'd had one of the most prominent roles in the Texas House's failed attempt to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Abbott headed to Lubbock this afternoon for a re-election campaign kickoff event for GOP State Reps. Dustin Burrows and Carl Tepper at the American Windmill Museum. Burrows and Tepper both backed Paxton's impeachment as well when the House approved it in a 121-23 vote near the end of the regular session in May.
Burrows faces a primary challenge from a Paxton-certified candidate in Brownfield's Wade Cowan. Tepper has attracted no opposition up to now. Burrows - one of the most powerful House members as the Calendars Committee chairman - is ranked among the top 10 incumbent Republicans in contested primaries on the Capitol Inside Texas Races to Watch list in 2024,
But Leach is Paxton's number one target aside from Speaker Dade Phelan himself in the first-round competition next year. Paxton attended a campaign launch party two weeks ago for Daren Meis - a former Allen City Council member who's taking aim at Leach in the GOP primary election in House District 67.
Leach, who chairs the Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee, was significantly involved behind the scenes on the impeachment effort before Phelan tapped him to serve on a group of representatives who managed the case for the House. Leach made the impeachment personal - recalling in a closing argument at a Senate trial how Paxton had been a dear friend before shunning him eventually with behavior that hurt his heart.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick mocked Leach after the Senate voted to acquit the three-time elected attorney general. Leach ascended to the number two spot on the House Republican watch list after Republican State Rep. Andrew Murr of Junction called off a re-election race last week. Murr was the House managers chair for the impeachment. Murr and Leach provided the one-two punch in the final summations in the Senate trial before the AG's acquittal.
The HD 67 race is all the more personal in a district in Paxton's home base in Collin County. The attorney general's wife - Republican State Senator Angela Paxton of McKinney - represents a district that overlaps with HD 67.
Abbott avoided the impeachment despite its massive historical significance. He's acting now as though he's oblivious to Paxton's push for justice at the polls for Republicans who tried to overrule the voters with the ill-fated attempt to remove him from office.
“Jeff Leach is a strong, conservative leader with a proven track record of securing the border, protecting taxpayers, and expanding education freedom for all Texas families," Abbott said today in an email. "Chairman Leach authored and passed major legislation to ban a state income tax, protect the unborn, and safeguard the medical freedoms of all Texans by banning COVID mandates. He worked with me to pass the largest property tax cut in Texas history and was on the front lines in the fight to ban harmful gender modification procedures on minors. Texas needs the continued conservative leadership of Jeff Leach, and I'm proud to endorse him for re-election. I encourage everyone in House District 67 to join me in supporting him.”
more to come ...
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