There are 59 Republican primaries for Texas House of Representatives on March 5, 2024, 45 of which have an incumbent on the ballot.
Texas’ 2024 legislative elections feature more contested primaries than any other year since at least 2012. The 2024 elections are taking place in the context of two votes in 2023 that divided the House GOP caucus.
One was the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). The House voted 121-23 to impeach Paxton. Sixty Republicans joined with 61 Democrats in support of impeachment. As of Feb. 2, 2024, Paxton has endorsed three incumbents who voted against impeachment as well as 19 challengers to Republican incumbents who voted for impeachment.
In the other, the caucus split over removing a provision for school vouchers from an education bill. The vote removing the provision for school vouchers passed 84-63, with 21 Republicans joining 63 Democrats to remove vouchers. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) supported the measure and says he will oppose legislators who voted against it. As of Feb. 2, 2024, Abbott has endorsed all 59 Republican incumbents who voted in favor of the proposal and are running for re-election. Abbott has endorsed nine challengers to candidates who voted against school vouchers.
Texas is one of 23 Republican trifectas. A state government trifecta is a term used to describe a single-party government where one political party holds the governor’s office and a majority in both chambers of the state legislature.
