RINO (Republican in name only), Speaker of the House Dade Phelan, is completely underwater in his own district. The Speaker was forced into a runoff, the first time this has happened in 52 years! He even trailed his challenger, David Covey, by three percentage points.
Alicia Davis, the candidate who placed third in the primary, threw her support behind Covey. But in even bigger news, so did President Trump. The former President attacked Phelan several times, calling his actions as a speaker an embarrassment to Texas.
Additionally, conservative champion Tony Tinderholt and moderate Republican J.M. Lozano wrote a piece on how Phelan will not be the Speaker in the 89th legislative session if he makes it that far. The lawmakers focused on Phelan’s potentially career-ending mistake of giving democrats chairmanships in the Texas House, something True Texas Project has fought against for years.
Tinderholt and Lozano said, “The truth is, whenever Republicans give Democrats power, we give them leverage to defeat conservative policy and raise money from the lobby they can use to help elect Democrats to public office.” They turned the focus to Phelan by remarking, “The voters made clear on March 5th that Speaker Dade Phelan will not return as Speaker of the House.”
Phelan’s tenure as Speaker can be remembered as one that empowered Democrats at the expense of Republicans. For instance, not only did Phelan give Democrats powerful positions in the Texas House, but he also spearheaded the witchhunt against America’s most Conservative Attorney General, Ken Paxton.
This move was a tragic mistake for Phelan, one that might cost him his office. Even liberals at the Texas Tribune admit this. Two days after the March 5th primary election, they wrote an article titled House Speaker Dade Phelan took a risk on Paxton’s impeachment. It may end his career. They also noted that 9 of Phelan’s top lieutenants lost their seats to real conservatives. Hopefully, Phelan will face a similar fate and be replaced by David Covey, a conservative from Southeast Texas who has repeatedly criticized his opponent for empowering Democrats and attacking Paxton.
Article submitted to True Texas Project by Riley Jo Brorsen