Texas Republicans are plotting a power grab in the event that Democrats manage to unseat one of the state’s most powerful leaders, Harvey Kronberg’s Quorum Report said on Monday.
“With public and private GOP polling showing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick potentially losing to a lawmaker whose name ID mostly comes from Patrick’s campaign commercials, multiple sources have confirmed to Quorum Report in recent days that an overhaul of how the Texas Senate is led may be coming next year. Namely: Stripping the Lt. Governor of all legislative powers if Democratic nominee Vikki Goodwin beats Patrick next month,” said the report.
In Texas, the lieutenant governor also serves as president of the state Senate, and has unusually strong legislative powers. However, a recent report from the Texas Tribune last week outlined how Republicans could take the teeth out of the office in the event Goodwin wins the election.
In particular, the report noted that many of the Texas lieutenant governor’s expansive powers “are granted by state senators, who at the beginning of each legislative session approve the chamber’s rules. If elected, Goodwin would preside over a Republican-majority body that could restrict her control over things like committee assignments and the flow of bills to the Senate floor.”
Goodwin, for her part, is defiant in the face of the possibility, telling the Tribune, “I think of myself as being fairly intelligent. I’ll figure out ways to get things done.” She also noted that the core powers of the office, like being next in line for the governorship, are in the state Constitution and can’t be so easily revoked.
The Texas lieutenant governor’s office happens to be the most recent office ever held by Democrats statewide, with Bob Bullock having served in the office from 1991 to 1999.
Patrick is one of the more controversial statewide officeholders in Texas, and recently faced a police complaint from Goodwin for using AI to deepfake images of her on the campaign trail.
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