Texas Scorecard by Brandon Waltens | June 5, 2024
An inside source says State Reps. Cole Hefner and Jared Patterson are behind the effort to punish conservative members.A group of conservative lawmakers say they could soon be expelled by the Texas House Republican Caucus for endorsing challengers to incumbents in the recent primary election.
Called the “Incumbent Protection Program,” the Texas House Republican Caucus prohibits members from endorsing against incumbents and has threatened to censure members who have done so in the past.
This cycle, however, conservative incumbent State Reps. Brian Harrison, Nate Schatzline, Steve Toth, and Tony Tinderholt joined statewide Republicans like Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in endorsing against liberal Republicans in an election cycle that saw the defeat of 14 incumbent Republicans.
State Rep. Tom Oliverson, the chair of the House Republican Caucus, confirmed that a report had been made but noted that there are several steps before an expulsion vote would be held:
Last week, a report was made to the Caucus Executive Committee that certain members had violated Sections 7.09 and/or 7.10 (Financial Support During Elections and Campaigning) of our Caucus bylaws. Pursuant to the process laid out in the bylaws, the Executive Committee is obligated to conduct an investigation into the accusations and a report to the Caucus membership of our findings is currently being drafted. Upon the completion of our investigation and the determination of a proposed action, the full Caucus membership will vote on whether the proposed action is executed. As the Executive Committee, we will fulfill our duties to complete this process but no decisions have been reached at this time.More:
https://texasscorecard.com/state/house-gop-caucus-may-expel-members-who-campaigned-with-abbott-against-liberal-republicans/
