(BrightPress.org) – Speaker of the Texas House Dade Phelan won the Republican party nomination against Trump-backed challenger David Covey in Tuesday’s primary. The race was close as only 366 votes prevented Phelan from becoming the first House speaker to lose a primary in 52 years. Covey could have requested a recount but instead conceded during a speech to supporters just after 9:30 p.m.
The contest between the two Republicans was full of grisly mud-slinging and accusations tossed about by both contestants. They slammed each other using mailers and TV advertisements. Phelan called the race a “terrible, awful knock-down, drag-out” and told the people it is safe to once again open their mailboxes and watch the news now that the election has ended.
Phelan lost popularity among conservatives when the House voted to Impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton last year. Phelan has been accused of “catering to Democrats.”
Covey shocked the district after securing more votes than Phelan in a runoff election in March. Phelan’s campaign spent $3.8 million on the runoff election. Covey’s campaign reported spending $1.6 million. The amount of spending combined made history in Texas as the most expensive state House race in the state.
If Covey had been victorious the dynamics in Texas legislature would have undergone a drastic change. A shift towards an even more conservative agenda would have been imminent. As it stands with Phelan as Speaker, the Texas House will continue to prevent controversial “ultra-conservative” legislation from becoming law in Texas. Bills regarding the transgender use of public restrooms, critical race theory in public schools, and book bans, for example, have passed by the Texas Senate but were blocked by the House. Instead, the status quo remains very much intact.
However, Phelan still has a battle ahead of him in preparation for the November 5th election. Republican Representative Tom Oliverson of Cypress, TX declared in March that he will be running for Speaker of the Texas House. Oliverson has not yet received any public endorsements.
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