At Least 26 GOP Reps Face Primary Foes
on Primary Battlefield that's Tamer in 2026

Capitol Inside
December 8, 2025

The Republican primary competition for the Texas House could be shaping up to be a relatively tranquil affair in 2026 without the vitriol, bloodlust and turnover that marked the first and second rounds of voting in races for the Legislature's lower chamber last year.

The GOP primary in the fight for the west wing has some initial juice from the fact that several House Republicans are facing primary foes after being censured by the Texas GOP or local party organizations or both this year for refusing to toe the line in the House leadership election in January as the most common and serious transgression.

But the upcoming primary season could be amazingly tame compared to Republican battles for the House in 2024 when Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton had dueling revenge crusades in action with many common targets in their sights for separate reasons. Forty-six incumbent Republican House members had primary opponents last year. Challengers are taking aim at 26 House Republicans at the least based on the tentative lineups the night before the deadline.

Abbott wanted retribution for votes that House Republicans cast against his signature school vouchers bill in special session in the fall of 2023. The governor spent millions of dollars on campaigns for challengers who knocked off a half-dozen incumbent representatives who'd been allies for years before refusing to bow to his demands on school choice.

Paxton had recruited many of the same candidates who Abbott went on to bankroll in fights with House Republicans in a quest for retribution for votes they cast for his impeachment in the final weekend of the regular session in 2023. Four conservative challengers who Paxton backed ousted incumbent Republicans who Abbott supported and funded in the 2024 primary election.

The primary purging by statewide leaders from the ruling party was an unprecedented development in the Lone Star State. But the House's former speaker - Dade Phelan - had given Abbott and Paxton fodder for payback campaigns. Phelan was the engineer of the attorney general's impeachment ordeal that ended in a verdict of acquittal in a Texas Senate trial. Phelan made no concerted attempt to pass the governor's vouchers bill in his role as the speaker - and he was one of only two House Republicans who voted against the measure in 2025 when other former opponents caved under Abbott pressure and threats.

Two of the lawmakers in the four hottest fights on the GOP card in the opening list of Texas House races to watch in the primary election in 2026 - State Reps. Angelia Orr of Itasca and Jared Patterson of Frisco - are seeking new terms in the face of opposition just months after being censured by the state GOP for violations of party principles and platform planks.

Two House Republicans who are facing challengers in races ranked among the 10 hottest on first watch list - State Reps. Jeff Leach of Allen and Cody Harris of Palestine - were censured by activists in their districts for the same alleged transgressions before the state party's governing board gave them a pass. Leach hadn't shown up on the Secretary of State's roster for primary contenders by Sunday night even though he's appeared to have every intention of running again.

All of the GOP legislators who were disciplined by the state party or local organizations or both appear to be in position to run as favorites in round one. But Orr could face the toughest test as a second-term legislator who's facing Kat Wall in the primary as a battle-tested conservative who spend substantial sums of personal money on bids for Congress that were unsuccessful but credible as a Houston resident in recent years.

The House District 13 that pits Wall against Orr is ranked number two on the GOP primary battlefield - surpassed only by rookie Republican State Rep. Marc LaHood's duel with a challenger who's backed by the powerhouse political committee Texans for Lawsuit Reform. TLR has steered clear of challengers in fights with House Republicans in the past.

But LaHood piqued the group's wrath when he played a key role in the dismantling of the TLR agenda during the regular session this year. The tort reform group is backing challenger David McArthur in the March primary in the race for LaHood's seat.

Twenty-six House Republicans had drawn primary opposition by Sunday night. While the count could climb by Monday night, it pales in comparison at this point to 2024 when 46 incumbent representatives for the GOP faced primary foes. Phelan's successor in the dais - current Speaker Dustin Burrows of Lubbock - has probably helped protect incumbents from primary challenges to some degree as a result of close working relationships that he's cultivated with Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick as the state Senate president. Patrick had been one of Phelan's most ferocious critics.

more to come ...