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Speaker Backs Establishment Trio
in First Shots in Open GOP Runoffs
Capitol Inside
April 2, 2022
GOP Speaker Dade Phelan sided with the party establishment on Friday when he dished out endorsements to a trio of Texas House hopefuls who are dueling Republican primary runoff foes in open races that have been close.
Phelan threw his support to Ben Bumgarner of Flower Mound, Barron Casteel of New Braunfels and Caroline Harris of Round Rock for overtime duels with rivals who have run to their right this year. All three scored endorsements this week from Governor Greg Abbott.
Casteel is a former mayor in a second round fight with Carrie Isaac of San Marcos in House District 73. Bumgarner is the current mayor pro tem in the suburban city where he's based on the north side of the Fort Worth area. Bumgarner faces Flower Mound Republican Jeff Younger in overtime in House District 63. Harris is attempting to overcome an initial 4-point deficit after trailing fellow Round Rock Republican Patrick McGuinness in the first round of the House District 52 race in Williamson County on the northern edge of the Austin area.
But Harris has been a prime example of how the GOP far right based on old-school standards has evolved into the establishment now. Harris' most generous supporter has been her boss - State Senator Bryan Hughes - a Mineola Republican who's one of the upper chamber's most powerful members. Hughes has donated $55,000 to Harris. GOP State Rep. Mayes Middleton of Galveston has pumped $30,000 into the Harris campaign as well. Middleton is a substantial favorite in a bid for a promotion to the Senate in 2022.
Hughes and Middleton, who'd been hard-right conservatives in recent years, have accounted for 55 percent of almost $155,000 that Harris raised before the primary election. They are two of Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick's top allies at the statehouse in Austin. Harris may be more of a conservative-establishment hybrid with $17,000 in contributions from the Texas Right to Life PAC.
McGuinness is a longtime activist whose supporters include Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, the Young Conservatives of Texas and the Texas Eagle Forum. But McGuinness accepted $1,000 from the Defend Texas Liberty PAC - and that's an open invitation for Phelan's opposition given the source of its funding.
Texas right-wing financiers Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks contributed almost $5 million to Defend Texas Liberty, which received $500,000 from Phillip Huffines as well this year. The group donated $1.4 million to brother Don Huffines' bid to unseat Abbott in the primary election.
Defend Texas Liberty's principal backers have been stringent critics of both Phelan and Abbott. The conservatives blame the speaker for the failure of legislation that would have banned gender-affirming treatment they refer to as child mutilation.
Defend Texas Liberty donated $18,000 to Younger in round one in an open race for House District 63 where he will square off with Bumgarner in the runoff election May 24. The Dunn group contributed $20,000 to Fort Worth Republican David Lowe for an overtime fight with State Rep. Stephanie Klick - a Phelan lieutenant. Defend Texas Liberty gave $1,000 to House runoff contenders Mark Dorazio of San Antonio and Nate Schatzline of Fort Worth as well.
Bumgarner and Younger advanced to OT with 29 percent and 28 percent of the March 1 vote respectively. Younger has alienated the leadership team with constant attacks on the fizzling of legislation that targeted transgender kids. Younger's central issue has been a struggle with the courts in a fight on his own child's transition. Bumgarner is a co-owner of a gun manufacturing company and serves as the current mayor pro tem on the town council in the suburb where he's based on the northern side of the Fort Worth area. Bumgarner has the Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC in his corner after a $15,000 contribution in February.
Casteel is a former New Braunfels mayor whose mother Carter Casteel represented House District 73 for four years after stints as Comal County judge and school board member. Casteel the HD 73 hopeful practices law with his mother and sister. He's been the quintessential establishment candidate with support from business interests like the Texas Association of Realtors PAC along with teachers and other public education advocates like H-E-B owner Charles Butt. Casteel received $10,000 from the Charles Butt Public Education PAC as the only House contender in an open race with campaign cash from the grocery store magnet's group.
Casteel and Isaac emerged from the March primary election in HD 73 with 46 percent and 45 percent of the vote respectively. Isaac husband's Jason Isaac served eight years in the Legislature's lower chamber before stepping down in 2019. The ex-lawmaker's wife lost by a single point in a bid to unseat Democratic State Rep. Erin Zwiener of Driftwood in 2020.
Middleton has been Isaac's top donor for the 2022 campaign with contributions of $45,000.
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