North Texans react to Collin County-native Ken Paxton's impeachment
NORTH TEXAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) — All eyes were on the Capitol Saturday as the Texas House of Representatives passed the resolution to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton.
But what do North Texans think of what happened in Austin?
With 121 voting in support and 23 voting against the resolution, the Texas House voted to impeach Paxton, shocking many across the state—including his supporters back home in Collin County.
"I was shocked the threshold was so much higher, I was thinking it was somewhere 100 to 50—somewhere in that range—but it was much higher than people were expecting, at least on the party side," said Abraham George, the chairman of the Collin County Republican Party.
Unsurprisingly, Democrats in Collin County supported the decision and are now calling on Paxton to resign.
"I wasn't shocked when I saw the final numbers, but it is sort of odd to see the Republican Party fighting against each other so much," said Jeremy Sutka, the vice chair of the Collin County Democratic Party. "It's not something you see in Texas very often."
George said this impeachment vote was politically motivated by opponents of Paxton within both parties.
"A top law enforcement officer for the State of Texas should be held at a higher level and I get that, I wish that, I want that from any attorney general," he said. "But this is also the most conservative attorney general and he has been taking arrows for that."
Now, both parties are anxious to hear the outcome of Paxton's trial in the Senate, of which his wife is a member. "It'll be interesting to see whether Angela Paxton—who represents some Collin County residents—recuses herself. Hopefully it's a real, true trial," Sutka said.
"We have to wait and see what the senate will do, and I don't think the senate will go against him," George said.
To show their support, North Texas Paxton supporters are planning to hold a rally at the Collin County Courthouse Monday. It is expected to begin at 11 a.m.