Maybe it’s just me, but I feel this rumbling in my gut that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is in some deep doo-doo … politically speaking.
Think about something for a brief moment.
When has any Texas Republican statewide officeholder faced the kind of intraparty challenge that Paxton is facing as the next primary campaign approaches. He has three Republican challengers already and a fourth one might be ready to jump into the race.
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush has announced his intention to run; so has former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman, along with state Rep. Matt Krause. Waiting in the wings might be U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert.
Here’s the fascinating dynamic shaping up. Bush and Guzman appear to be running as “establishment Republicans” who are fed up with Paxton’s legal troubles, starting with his pending state court trial on an allegation of investment securities fraud. Then we have Krause, a member of the ultraconservative Texas Freedom Caucus, who would tack farther to the right. Oh, and then we might get Gohmert, the unofficial leader of the Texas GOP Nut Job Caucus in Congress.
What does this mean for Paxton? It means — to my way of thinking — that he’s managed to pi** off disparate elements within his own party. One side considers him an embarrassment, the other side is pulling him in the opposite direction.
Ken Paxton is now one of four GOP candidates running for AG. I hope the number jumps to five … or even more.