Rep. Chip Roy, a hard-right House Freedom Caucus member and frequent thorn in the side of party leadership, is entering the Republican primary to replace Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for U.S. Senate against incumbent fellow Republican Sen. John Cornyn.
In a campaign launch video Thursday, Roy tied his candidacy to his support for President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, warning that “the Texas of our dreams … is under assault” by “radical Democrats” who, he said, “have flooded our streets, hospitals, jails and schools with illegal immigrants and dangerous fentanyl.”
As policy chair for the Freedom Caucus and a member of the powerful House Rules Committee, Roy, 53, has become one of the most outspoken members of his party on curbing illegal immigration and cutting federal spending.
