With the candidate filing deadline behind them, the attorney general’s challengers are jockeying to establish themselves as the best person to unseat him.
Four years ago, Republicans watched closely to see if Attorney General Ken Paxton — who had been battling a high-profile securities fraud indictment — would draw a last-minute primary challenger as the candidate filing deadline loomed for the 2018 primary.
But despite his apparent vulnerability, Paxton ran unopposed in his party on his way to a second term.
This election cycle, things are different. Paxton is facing what is shaping up to be the biggest, most contentious fight among Texas Republicans next year.
He's attracted three primary foes who are well known in Texas politics. They are Land Commissioner George P. Bush, former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman and U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert of Tyler.
Despite the odds, Paxton is still polling well ahead of his closest challenger, Bush, who, himself, is vulnerable to accusations that he mishandled renovations at the Alamo in San Antonio.
Most controversially, Bush originally championed the removal of the Cenotaph memorial that some say sits atop the ashes of the martyred defenders who died on that site at the hands of Gen. Santa Ana's troops.
While he does take credit for that position on the Cenotaph, he says moves to reimagine the story of the Alamo - to tell the Mexicans side of the story within the facility - lies entirely with the San Antonio city council, and he says he never supported it.
Bush's problem with conservatives is is exacerbated by the entry of gomert into the race. The conservative congressman is well respected in Republican circles and is expected to take votes away from Bush and Paxton.
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