Good morning,

This is the Texas Minute for Thursday, March 7, 2024.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

UPFRONT: With apologies, I got Marc LaHood's first name wrong in yesterday's Texas Minute election roundup. I'll have plenty of opportunities to get it right, given his victory in the GOP primary against an establishment incumbent.

RE-ELECTED: Devine to SCOTX and Craddick to RRC

• Among the last races to be called following the Tuesday night primary, Supreme Court Justice John Devine and Texas Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick won their respective Republican primary races outright after close contests. Luca Cacciatore has the details.
       

• Devine was challenged by Brian Walker, whose father sits on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The incumbent has long been considered one of the most conservative voices on the Supreme Court. There are nine justices on the court, serving four-year terms. Devine faces a Democrat opponent in the general election.
      

• Craddick is one of three Railroad Commission members who together oversee —the name notwithstanding—the state's oil and gas industry. Each commissioner is elected statewide to staggered six-year terms. After fending off four GOP challengers, Craddick will face a Democrat opponent in November.

Potential Speaker Candidate Works for Bonnen-Phelan Bank

• With Dade Phelan forced into a runoff, House members have already decided he is too damaged to serve as speaker, even if he survives. As Brandon Waltens reports, a rumored replacement is employed by a bank tied to current Speaker Phelan and former Speaker Dennis Bonnen. 
      
• When State Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine) was first elected to the House in 2018, he was a real estate broker for Liberty Land & Ranch LLC. In August of 2021, however, Harris added a new item to his resumé—Vice President of Business Development for Third Coast Bank.
       
• In late 2019, after Bonnen was forced to resign from the speakership amid a scandal, Third Coast Bank acquired his bank. Bonnen currently sits on the Third Coast board of directors, which has close ties to the Phelan family network of businesses. Speaker Phelan himself owns shares in Third Coast.
      
• Lawmakers have told Texas Scorecard that the Bonnen-Phelan network wants to position one of their loyalists to serve as speaker in 2025.

'Come & Take It' with Sara Gonzales Premieres Next Week!

• Texas Scorecard's newest show, Come and Take It with Sara Gonzales, will premiere on Tuesday, March 12.

"School Choice" Was the Big Winner on Super Tuesday

• The 2024 primary election was a major success for school choice advocates in Texas. Daniel Greer explains how the races went for opponents of education reform.

       
• Corey DeAngelis, a school choice advocate and head of the American Federation for Children Victory Fund, noted that there were six wins and four forced runoffs in the 13 races where his PAC was engaged.

Looking To November...

• Will Biagini offers a preview of the dozen November races pitting new Republican nominees against Democrats. For the GOP candidates, the good news is that they won primary races in solidly Republican districts and are projected to win their districts in November.

Gillespie County Republicans Successfully Hand-count Primary Ballots

• Republicans in Gillespie County successfully completed a hand count of all ballots cast in Tuesday’s GOP primary, accomplishing a goal set last year to make their elections more transparent and secure. Erin Anderson has the full story.
     
• Counting was completed around 2:00 a.m. Wednesday.
       
• “This was six months of hard work,” Gillespie County Republican Party Chairman Bruce Campbell told Texas Scorecard. “To be honest, I was a skeptic ...  I just didn’t know if we would have the people and the wherewithal to do it.”
       

• In all, more than 250 volunteers counted almost 8,000 paper ballots—4,100 cast during early voting and about 3,900 on Election Day.

Paxton Now Suing Seven School Districts for Illegal Electioneering

• Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced a lawsuit against the Hutto Independent School District, bringing the number of districts being sued for allegedly using government resources for illegal electioneering to seven. Amelia McKenzie has the latest details.

Quote-Unquote

"Texas is the finest portion of the globe that has blessed my vision."

– Sam Houston​

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