November 14, 2017      7:14 PM
SB: As hardliners push Texas House GOP to flex muscle in selecting speaker, Abbott works to reduce their numbers
Responsible Republicans argue a censure of Chair Davis would have stymied a straight ticket voting campaign next November because the censure would prohibit party resources from being used on Davis’ behalf
HOUSTON
– Confession: Few things in this world are as fascinating and fun as the literal
and figurative swamp of Harris County politics. The creatures lurking here in
the murky bayou waters are powerful and petty, colorful and crazy. And they’ll
get you if you’re not careful.
That’s
why it was especially striking that as Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday threw the equivalent of a political Molotov cocktail
at the Harris County Republican Party’s leadership, its executive committee
meeting was relatively subdued.
Such
meetings can erupt into shouting matches over much less than a governor
inserting himself into what’s sure to be a nasty primary race, siding against a
popular Republican incumbent who carried her district last year when her party’s
White
House nominee lost within the same political borders by 15 points to
the Democrat.
Prior
to Abbott’s endorsement of TPPF Fellow and Empower Texans favorite Susanna Dokupil,
GOP activists in Houston had for the last week internally debated the wisdom of
a proposed censure of Rep. Sarah Davis, R-West University Place.
The censure motion never made its way to the floor of the meeting.
There
was grumbling among some precinct chairs, wondering if Abbott timed his endorsement
of Davis’ challenger to add fuel to the censure frenzy among activists potentially
forcing a debate of the measure.
By Scott Braddock
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