Greg Abbott vs, Ken Paxton March 5 Primary Wins, Losses & Runoffs |
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Challenger Wins
Hickland, Holt, LaHood,
Olcott, Shofner
Challenger Record 5-2-3
Incumbent Record 22-2-3
Open Races Record 3-0-3
Incumbent Runoffs
Kerwin, Schoolcraft,
Spencer, Klick, Stucky, Frazier |
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Challenger Wins
Hickland, Holt, LaHood, Little,
Luther, Money, Morgan, Olcott
Challenger Record 8-21-7
Incumbent Record 3-1-0
Open Races Record 3-1-1
Incumbent Runoffs
Covey, Hopper, Kerwin, Lowe, Pierson, Richardson, Schoolcraft |
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| Greg Abbott |
Record 30-4-9 |
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Record 14-23-8 |
Ken Paxton |
Abbott Heaps Praise on Pierson after Stone
Calls Her `Piece of Garbage' and `Ho' on X
Capitol Inside
March 7, 2024
Governor Greg Abbott set himself up for potential embarrassment on Friday when he threw his muscle behind Katrina Pierson for a GOP primary runoff for the Texas House just days after longtime Donald Trump associate Roger Stone accused her of faking an endorsement from the former president.
Abbott refused to endorse Pierson for the first round in a fight with State Rep. Justin Holland of Rockwall despite the incumbent's vote against his pet school choice plan in special session last fall. The governor bankrolled five challengers who ousted anti-voucher incumbents in the initial election on Tuesday - and he plans to take out four more House Republicans in overtime now that he's added Holland to the hit list.
Pierson and Holland advanced to a runoff in House District 33 after scoring 39.5 percent and 38.8 percent of the vote respectively in the election this week. Pierson entered OT as a significant favorite in a state where Republican runoff voters are substantially more conservative. Based on Abbott's success in an unprecedented targeting exhibition up to now this year, the belated endorsement for Pierson could all but guarantee that she wins the second round vote on May 28. But Abbott wouldn't deserve to take the credit for a Pierson runoff win unless she edged out Holland in vote that was extremely close.
The latent Pierson endorsement raises the specter of possible memory loss in light of ferocious criticism and insults that she'd lodged at her famous new supporter in the past. Pierson backed Don Huffines for governor in the 2022 primary election that Abbott went on to win easily without the need for a runoff.
Pierson was instrumental in a push that year to have Trump rescind an endorsement that he'd issued to Abbott in a move that she portrayed as the product of a con job by Abbott underlings.
“I’m ready to support a true Texas statesman who wants Texas to lead again,” Pierson said in a Huffines pitch. “It is time we have a Governor of the Lone Star State who will put Texas and Texans first."
The prevailing sentiment in the Austin beltway has been that Abbott - while berating Holland with rhetoric - had eschewed an endorsement for Pierson as a result of the ugly comments she'd made about him in recent years.
"Katrina Pierson is a proven, battle-tested conservative who will never stop fighting for the conservative values that help make Texas the land of freedom and opportunity,” Abbott said in an email today. “I know Katrina will work with me to secure our border and put Texas on a pathway to eliminate property taxes for all Texans. I am proud to support Katrina, who stands with the majority of Texans in supporting education freedom for every Texas family. I urge Texans in House District 33 to join me in supporting Katrina Pierson for State Representative.”
Abbott chose not to mention the social media that Stone launched and intensified this week in an attempt to diminish Pierson's campaign for the House.
"Voters in Texas HD-33 must beware of @KatrinaPierson," Stone said the night before the primary election in a post on X. "She testified AGAINST President Trump in the Jan 6 Investigation, supported Ron Desantis over Trump and has a conviction for shoplifting! President Trump has NOT endorsed Katrina Pierson."
Stone was flagged by X for a post about Pierson on Monday. "Katrina Pearson has gotten every job she's ever had in politics by laying on her back and spreading her legs and everyone knows it," Stone contended. "Shes a talentless whore."
The site had a warning above the Stone post that said "Visibility limited: this Post may violate X’s rules against Hateful Conduct." There was no such tag, however, on a Stone post from February 12.
"FACT-Katrina Pierson is a talentless piece of human garbage AND a convicted shoplifter .A ho who simply spread her legs for every job she's ever gotten" the longtime Trump friend and fixer wrote on X on February 12.
Pierson also declined to acknowledge how she'd depicted Abbott as a failure for years in a thank you note to him today.
"I am honored to have the endorsement of Governor Abbott and look forward to working with him to STOP the invasion, PHASE OUT property taxes, and EMPOWER Texas parents with education freedom!" Pierson said.
Pierson apparently got to know Stone while working for the Trump campaign as a spokesperson. Stone has claimed that she was heavily responsible for some of the violence that erupted at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Stone has been implicated for the same.
more to come ...
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