Texas' largest newspaper, The Houston Chronicle, condemned what it described as the Republican "blood oath" primary election in which, it said, Governor Greg Abbott tried to get rid of GOP lawmakers who refused to side with him.
The state held its primary on Super Tuesday, when some conservative judges and Republican lawmakers were ousted for what The Chronicle saw as simply doing their job and not giving in to the wishes of Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
In an op-ed published Wednesday, the newspaper's editorial board said: "Abbott made no secret of his desire to push out the 21 Republican lawmakers who—wisely, we argued—sided with House Democrats and voted against his school voucher plan."
Abbott has pushed for a school voucher plan that would allow Texas parents to use taxpayer dollars to send their kids to nonpublic schools.
Newsweek has reached out to Abbott's office via email and Paxton's campaign via phone and email for comment.
Eight of the 21 GOP lawmakers who opposed the school voucher plan were defeated in Tuesday's primary, and four more are headed into runoff elections as of Wednesday.
The Chronicle called Tuesday's elections a "Texas GOP blood oath primary." It commended Texas Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan, who will have a runoff against Republican activist David Covey, for going against Abbott and Paxton. Phelan voted to impeach Paxton in May 2023 and did not cast a vote on Abbott's school voucher plan. Paxton was later acquitted by the Texas Senate.
"That's leadership," The Chronicle said of Phelan's legislative actions. "That's respecting what used to be called The Will of The House. And that, today, can be fatal in the Texas GOP."
The newspaper noted that several GOP lawmakers who voted to impeach Paxton did keep their seats.
Donald Trump was mentioned multiple times in The Chronicle's opinion piece. The former president endorsed the challengers of three judges on Texas' highest criminal court—Justices Sharon Keller, Barbara Hervey and Michelle Slaughter—who ended up losing their positions. Trump also endorsed Phelan's opponent Covey.
Speaking on the three judges' election losses, The Chronicle wrote: "Following the rule of law isn't a virtue anymore when the law is in conflict with the desires of a powerful politician who has the backing of the Almighty Donald Trump."
The "powerful politician" that the newspaper was referring to was Paxton. The three ousted judges went against Paxton when they ruled, along with five other justices, in December 2021 that a Texas attorney general did not have the authority to prosecute voter fraud by himself.
The Chronicle advised its readers to vote for candidates "who value political independence and won't simply rubber stamp Abbott and Patrick's agenda" in the general election.
Speaking on Tuesday's primary, the newspaper wrote: "These results indicate there are still some voters who value integrity in their representatives, who don't view fealty as a requirement to serve in the state House.
"We implore the Republicans who despise the party's mafia-esque turn to make their voice heard this November."
Update 3/14/24, 4:17 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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