Gov. Abbott, AG Paxton back different candidates in North Texas GOP primaries
NORTH TEXAS - For weeks, Governor Greg Abbott campaigned across Texas for Republican candidates in the House who support taxpayer-financed education savings accounts or school vouchers.
Attorney General Ken Paxton stumped for candidates who are challenging many Republican incumbents in the Texas House.
This trend is playing out more definitively in Collin and Denton counties than just about anywhere else in the state.
Abbott is backing most of the GOP incumbents in North Texas because they support school choice.
Paxton though is pushing for their challengers because the Republican incumbents voted to impeach him last year.
Collin County is home turf for Paxton, and he's been pushing hard since last fall after the Texas Senate acquitted him of all the impeachment articles against him.
It's a similar situation for the open State Senate District 30 seat, former Denton County GOP Chair Brent Hagenbuch has been endorsed by Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, and now former President Donald Trump.
Carrie de Moor is being endorsed by Paxton.
De Moor filed a legal challenge against Hagenbuch claiming he doesn't live in the district, while Hagenbuch insists he does.
Two other Republicans, Jace Yarbrough and Cody Clark, are also vying for the seat, one that's held by Republicans.
Another state race we are watching closely is the Democratic primary in State Senate District 16 in Dallas County.
Incumbent Nathan Johnson is being challenged by State Representative Victoria Neave Criado.
This is a Democratic-held seat, and there are no Republicans running in this race.
That means the winner of the primary will in fact win the general election in November.
Recent polls show that border security is the most dominant issue in Texas right now, especially among Republicans.
SMU Political Science Professor Matt Wilson told CBS News Texas that all Republican candidates have strongly backed measures to reduce illegal immigration.
"They differ a little on the policy details, and that's important. But where they're all on the same pages, they all think we need much stricter enforcement than what we have now, and that's where the overwhelming majority of the Republican primary electorate is."
In the Democratic primaries, the candidates are more focused on gun restrictions, voting rights, and reproductive rights in Texas.
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