Republicans should oust AG Ken Paxton. Here’s our recommendation for their best candidate
Ken Paxton’s time as Texas attorney general needs to end.
He’s been indicted on fraud charges and faces a federal bribery investigation. He obfuscates or violates the rule of law at every turn.
And for Republican voters looking to hold onto the important position, he’s increasingly vulnerable. Primary voters have the chance to end this risk by selecting a better candidate.
Former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman, 61, of Cypress, would be a real trailblazer for several reasons. She brings 20 years of judicial experience, including a decade on the high court. Guzman said that as AG, she’d focus on improving the operations of the office, which has a massive budget and thousands of employees.
She vowed to significantly reduce the number of attorneys working on child support cases — 60 percent of Paxton’s office is dedicated to the issue now — partly by modernizing how child support is facilitated. She hinted that she’d use that newly freed manpower for more battles with the federal government, but also on important issues such as human trafficking.
Guzman also said if elected, she’d curtail government overreach, support crackdownson border security. And in our interview, she seemed even tougher on Paxton than we are. She criticized his recent losses in court, including over whether his office has the power to prosecute voter fraud.
Guzman said she would never have filed the kind of lawsuit Paxton did asking the Supreme Court to review other states’ election results without a stitch of hard evidence.
Land Commissioner George P. Bush, 45, of Houston would be a steady and competent choice for AG if he could best Paxton. He’s young, without drama, and has that famous family name. GOP voters wouldn’t go wrong with Bush, either.
U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, 68, of Pittsburg has a national reputation for controversy and clings too hard to former President Donald Trump and his election conspiracy theories.
Early voting starts Monday and ends Feb. 25 for the March 1 election. If no candidate receives more than half the vote, the top two will compete in a May runoff.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHey, who is behind these endorsements?
Members of the Editorial Board, which serves as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s institutional voice, decide candidates and positions to recommend to voters. The members of the board are: Cynthia M. Allen, columnist; Steve Coffman, editor and president; Bud Kennedy, columnist; Ryan J. Rusak, opinion editor; and Nicole Russell, opinion writer.
Members of our Community Advisory Board may also participate in candidate interviews and offer their views, but they do not vote on which candidate to recommend.
Read more by clicking the arrow in the upper right.
How does the process work?
The Editorial Board interviews candidates, asking about positions on issues, experience and qualifications, and how they would approach holding the office for which they are running. Board members do additional research on candidates’ backgrounds and the issues at hand. After that, members discuss the candidates and generally aim to arrive at a consensus, though not necessarily unanimity. All members contribute observations and ideas, so the resulting editorials represent the board’s view, not a particular writer.
How do partisanship and ideology factor in?
We’re not tied to one party or the other, and our positions on issues range across the ideological spectrum. We tend to prefer candidates who align with our previously stated positions, but qualifications, temperament and experience are important, too.
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 5:03 AM.