Thank you for signing up!

Subscribe to more newsletters here

A chasm has emerged between two Texas Republican Senate candidates in the legal fight against Democrats who fled the state to block a redistricting push.

State GOP leaders are pushing several courts to clear the way for lawmakers to achieve a quorum and pass a new House map.

It has also become a shadow war in the state’s upcoming Senate GOP primary.

Incumbent Sen. John Cornyn went to the Texas Supreme Court to accuse his conservative primary challenger, state Attorney General Ken Paxton, of having “undercut efforts to bring legislators back to Texas.”

Paxton is now trading barbs with his rival, pushing back that he only “whines all day on X.”

The fracas began after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) last Tuesday launched a petition at the state’s high court aiming to declare the runaway Democrats’ seats vacant.

Paxton has sought to defeat it by insisting his office has the right to lead the charge, not Abbott’s. But Paxton wanted to wait until the state speaker’s Friday deadline for Democrats to return.

“While the Attorney General appreciates the Governor’s passion for ensuring that the Texas House reestablishes the quorum that is necessary to discharge the important business of the Legislature, this Court’s precedent is clear that a ‘quo warranto’ proceeding ‘can only be brought by the attorney general, a county attorney, or a district attorney,” Paxton’s office wrote in court filings.

It gave Cornyn, who faces his biggest political fight of his life yet with Paxton’s primary challenge, an opening.

In a two-page friend-of-the-court brief — signed by Cornyn personally rather than a lawyer— the senator condemned Paxton for having “delayed taking action to remove the absconding legislators.”

“Finally, after further delay, the Attorney General today duplicated the Governor’s petition in this Court—in some instances word for word—but then sought an individualized writ on behalf of a purported class of respondents,” Cornyn wrote.

“Surprisingly, the Attorney General again invites delay by suggesting this Court should give absconded Democrats more time — ‘48 hours’ after issuance of any decision— to consider their options,” he continued.

The move comes as Cornyn broadly leans into Texas’ redistricting fight, hoping to fend off the primary challenge from his right. Most polls show him consistently trailing Paxton, but a flood of outside groups are pouring in money to boost Cornyn.

“John Cornyn has been an absolute clown this week with his Paxton Derangement Syndrome. But using his official office to attack me in the TX Supreme Court for working to enforce warrants in other states takes the cake. This man is spiraling,” Paxton responded on X.

Paxton has also highlighted his office’s victory in convincing a judge to block former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) from financially supporting the Democrats who left the state. On Tuesday, Paxton accused O’Rourke of violating the order and pushed for him to be held in contempt of court and sent to jail.

The Texas Supreme Court, meanwhile, is now weighing both the governor and attorney general’s petitions seeking to declare Democrats’ seats vacant. On Monday, the court set a briefing schedule through Sept. 4.

Paxton has also escalated his efforts by trying to reach across state lines.

With Democrats having fled to California and Illinois, Paxton has filed legal complaints in both states seeking to initiate contempt proceedings against the absent lawmakers.

“Restoration of functional representative democracy, as evidenced by 250 years of American history, is the best and only way to resolve policy disputes,” reads the California complaint, which was announced Saturday.

“The public acts of Texas to restore that democratic process are entitled under the United States Constitution to full faith and credit from California,” it continues.

Cornyn, however, decried the move a “Hail Mary.”

Welcome to The Gavel, The Hill’s weekly courts newsletter. Ella is off this week. I’m Zach Schonfeld. Reach out to me on X (@ZachASchonfeld) or Signal (zachschonfeld.48) with news tips. Not on the list? Sign up here or using the box below.

IN FOCUS

Trump flexes D.C. National Guard’s unique setup

President Trump is flexing his power over the D.C. National Guard, whose unique structure provides Trump with heightened authority compared to state........

© The Hill