Greg Abbott’s Loss in Texas

The candidate endorsed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott lost his special election runoff race, dealing a blow to the far-right wing of the state’s Republican Party.

Jill Dutton, the former president of the Republican Women of Van Zandt, defeated Abbott-backed Brent Money, a Greenville lawyer who had previously served on the City Council, in Tuesday’s runoff election in House District 2.

Dutton will replace former state Representative Bryan Slaton and finish his term, which runs until January 2025. Slaton was expelled in a unanimous vote last year after an investigation found the married lawmaker got a 19-year-old intern drunk and had sex with her.

Because the race had been expected to serve as a bellwether for the Texas GOP’s future, Dutton’s victory marks a win for the state Republican Party’s more center-right members. The Republican-controlled Legislature was torn last year over the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton and a fight over school vouchers, which has been a top legislative priority for Abbott.

“The party’s warring factions have been looking for a moment to do battle on, and this race is the first of the cycle,” Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, told Newsweek.

Abbott, Paxton and Senator Ted Cruz all backed Money, while Dutton had the support of House Speaker Dade Phelan’s allies as well as former Governor Rick Perry. Money was also tied to far-right Texas groups, like Defend Texas Liberty, whose president was recently caught in a scandal after he hosted white supremacist Nick Fuentes at his office.

Although Dutton won Tuesday’s runoff, she will go head-to-head with Money again in the state’s March 5 primary, where they’ll be running for the GOP nomination to serve a full term in the seat. In last November’s election, Dutton received 25 percent of the vote, while Money got 32 percent.

Dutton also had a major fundraising advantage in the runoff, reporting $287,000 in the first 20 days of the year, compared with Money’s $110,000.

Although the runoff was largely viewed as a proxy fight within the Texas House, both Money and Dutton are conservative Republicans who have campaigned for additional border measures amid the migrant surge from Mexico.

“There aren’t too many differences between the two candidates, but their backers are waging a pitched battle to get traction in a Legislature the far right says is too moderate and the moderates say won’t let members represent their districts,” Rottinghaus said.

Money has called for all businesses in the state to use the state’s E-Verify program that scans employees for legal status, while Dutton argues it should be required only for big companies because it could hurt the growth of small businesses. Dutton also supported creating a special border police force and taking away state grants to nonprofits that provide services to illegal migrants.

Rottinghaus said it was no surprise that both Money and Dutton campaigned on immigration, given that it’s better for Texas Republicans to be tougher on the border than not.

“The Republican primary electorate is ready to pounce on border issues, and any weakness will be taken as a political retreat,” he said. “Both candidates must be firm or the electorate will reject them.”