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The Republican Race for Attorney General Will Be the Weirdest, Wildest--And Most Telling--TX Electiion
Ken Paxton is running against Louie Gohmert and George P. Bush. This will be fun to watch
Link to tweet
Could this guy really be elected the state’s top lawman for a third term? His legal situation looks worse than ever. The revelations in 2014 resulted in three felony indictments after Paxton took office, which produced some speculation that he might be pressured to resign, if only to save his party embarrassment. But Paxton has successfully delayed the charges from coming to trial, even though he had admitted to one of them in writing.
Late in 2020, seven senior staffers in Paxton’s office blew the whistle and accused him of being bribed by an Austin real estate developer who has been under investigation by the feds. (Paxton denies the charges.) The affair raised the strong possibility that federal indictments could be coming for Paxton—perhaps during the election campaign. Federal investigators, unlike the state courts adjudicating his first round of felony indictments, will be hard to duck. And yet the clear answer is: yes, he can be reelected. Right now, judging by the polls, that seems likely.,,,,
What does count? You know it when you see it. Louie Gohmert, the fourth candidate to announce, has it. Gohmert, who has represented East Texas in Congress since 2005, has the unfair reputation of being “the dumbest guy in Congress,” as Gohmert himself pointed out this year on the House floor.
But intelligence in a member of Congress is overrated, and besides, it comes in many different forms. Gohmert is a performance artist, and he’s damn good at it. From the perspective of legislating, he’s a mostly irrelevant House backbencher. But he has built a national profile, and he’s very rarely out of the news for more than a few days. He provokes and entertains and drives liberals nuts, and that’s how Republicans get elected in Texas. He’s better at it than Paxton, whose selling point has never been an excess of charisma. Gohmert announced he’d jump into the race for AG if he was able to raise a million dollars in short order—and he did it.
In the field, Gohmert alone can hit Paxton for moral and ethical shortcomings while simultaneously being able to claim, convincingly, that he’d be just as right wing as Paxton. But he faces the same predicament Bush does: Why should Republican primary voters switch horses when the incumbent has Trump’s official approval?
Late in 2020, seven senior staffers in Paxton’s office blew the whistle and accused him of being bribed by an Austin real estate developer who has been under investigation by the feds. (Paxton denies the charges.) The affair raised the strong possibility that federal indictments could be coming for Paxton—perhaps during the election campaign. Federal investigators, unlike the state courts adjudicating his first round of felony indictments, will be hard to duck. And yet the clear answer is: yes, he can be reelected. Right now, judging by the polls, that seems likely.,,,,
What does count? You know it when you see it. Louie Gohmert, the fourth candidate to announce, has it. Gohmert, who has represented East Texas in Congress since 2005, has the unfair reputation of being “the dumbest guy in Congress,” as Gohmert himself pointed out this year on the House floor.
But intelligence in a member of Congress is overrated, and besides, it comes in many different forms. Gohmert is a performance artist, and he’s damn good at it. From the perspective of legislating, he’s a mostly irrelevant House backbencher. But he has built a national profile, and he’s very rarely out of the news for more than a few days. He provokes and entertains and drives liberals nuts, and that’s how Republicans get elected in Texas. He’s better at it than Paxton, whose selling point has never been an excess of charisma. Gohmert announced he’d jump into the race for AG if he was able to raise a million dollars in short order—and he did it.
In the field, Gohmert alone can hit Paxton for moral and ethical shortcomings while simultaneously being able to claim, convincingly, that he’d be just as right wing as Paxton. But he faces the same predicament Bush does: Why should Republican primary voters switch horses when the incumbent has Trump’s official approval?
I feel for poor Eva Guzman. She is a very competent attorney but I doubt that she has a chance.
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