Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has released a full list of his endorsements for the upcoming Republican primary on March 5.
The list, which the attorney general posted on social media, includes a total of 72 candidates campaigning for positions at the federal, state, and local levels.
Paxton chose to endorse former President Donald Trump over former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. He also weighed in on a number of congressional races, choosing to endorse John O’Shea for Texas’ 12th District and Irene Armendariz-Jackson for Texas’ 16th District.
The attorney general also issued endorsements for candidates seeking seats on the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals, opting to endorse three challengers: David Schenck for Place 1, Gina Parker for Place 7, and Lee Finley for Place 8. He purportedly made the endorsements over a court ruling he claimed made it so “[a]nybody can cheat as much as they want in Texas,” as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
These cheating concerns come years after the incumbent judges — Sharon Keller, Michelle Slaughter, and Barbara Hervey — ruled that the attorney general does not have the authority to prosecute election interference cases.
Paxton’s endorsements also include an extensive list of candidates running for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives, with 46 candidates listed by the attorney general.
The Texas House candidates Paxton is endorsing include:
- Dale Huls for House District 1
- Brent Money for House District 2
- Joshua Feuerstein for House District 4
- Jeff Fletcher for House District 5
- Paulette Carson for House District 9
- Travis Clardy for House District 11
- Steve Toth for House District 15
- Tom Glass for House District 17
- Janis Holt for House District 18
- Janine Chapa for House District 20
- David Covey for House District 21
- Matt Morgan for House District 26
- Gary Gates for House District 28
- A.J. Louderback for House District 30
- Katrina Pierson for House District 33
- Alan Schoolcraft for House District 44
- Wes Virdell for House District 53
- Hillary Hickland for House District 55
- Devvie Duke for House District 56
- Helen Kerwin for House District 58
- Mike Olcott for House District 60
- Chuck Branch and Keresa Richardson for House District 61
- Shelley Luther for House District 62
- Vincent Gallo for House District 63
- Andy Hopper for House District 64
- Mitch Little for House District 65
- Wayne Richard for House District 66
- Daren Meis for House District 67
- Kerri Kingsbery for House District 68
- Liz Case for House District 71
- Don McLaughlin for House District 80
- Wade Cowan for House District 83
- Tim Greeson for House District 85
- John Smithee for House District 86
- Caroline Fairly for House District 87
- Karen Post for House District 88
- Abraham George for House District 89
- David Lowe for House District 91
- Cheryl Bean for House District 97
- Jack Reynold for House District 99
- Barry Wernick for House District 108
- Marc LaHood for House District 121
- Bianca Gracia for House District 128
- John Perez for House District 133
- Jared Woodfill for House District 138
- Stephen Stanley for House District 113
In contrast to the extensive list of endorsements for candidates running in the Texas House, Paxton only endorsed Dr. Carrie de Moor for Texas Senate District 30.
The attorney general also said he was endorsing John Devine in his campaign for Texas Supreme Court Place 4.
At the local level, Paxton presented a list of 10 endorsements for Republican county chair races. This list includes:
- Gwen Withrow in Montgomery County
- Helen Herd in Kerr County
- Jennifer Stoddard-Hajdu in Dallas County
- Valerie Villarreal in Kaufman County
- Michelle Evans in Williamson County
- Lacey Riley in Denton County
- Brent Lawson in Grayson County
- Cheryl Warren in Orange County
- Ruth Staton in Tom Green County
- Kim Shaw in Marion County
In Dallas County, incumbent Stoddard-Hajdu is facing off against challenger Lt. Col. Allen West to lead the Dallas County Republican Party.
Stoddard-Hajdu previously spoke with The Dallas Express and argued she has a background in building up the “disorganized” and “almost non-existent” party in Dallas proper.
“I took a party that was disorganized, in debt, and not helping candidates raise money. I re-established leadership positions. I have purchased data. I have built our own messaging platform, which allows us to text and email at an economical rate,” she explained.
The attorney general posted multiple other endorsements at the local level, choosing to endorse Tim Good for Johnson County district attorney and Michelle Merendino for Liberty County district attorney.
Paxton also endorsed multiple candidates for the down-ballot judge races, choosing to endorse Patricia Baca Bennett for the Tarrant County 360th Family District Court, Steve Rogers for the 14th Court of Appeals Place 4, and Vince Giardino for the 396th District Court of Tarrant County.
Similarly, Paxton said he was endorsing Nathan Criswell for Hood County Commissioners Court Precinct 3 and Joyce Yannuzzi for Comal County Commissioners Court Precinct 1.
Paxton only made one endorsement in the multitude of county constable races, with the attorney general choosing to endorse Scott Bedford for Tarrant County Precinct 4 constable.