'Total war': Lawmakers look to shake up Texas politics next legislative session

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — One year ago from Monday, the Texas Senate acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton of all charges accusing him of corruption, bribery, and abuse of office in Texas' second-ever impeachment of a statewide official. The historic trial attracted national intrigue to an already-salacious Texas Capitol, but its dramatic conclusion was just one chapter in an ongoing political saga, rather than the end. The political rifts triggered an earthquake still yet to settle.

"The trial was an initiating event for things that were latent that finally got a chance to come to the surface," House District 65 Republican nominee Mitch Little told Nexstar.

Little gained notoriety as one of Paxton's defense attorneys during the trial, springing him to victory in the Republican primary in his North Texas House district. He beat a Republican who voted to impeach Paxton, and for that reason. Barring a significant electoral shift, he will be in the House as an outspoken reformer come January.

"You had animosity over how the House was led, that it wasn't driving conservative principles. The House was essentially functioning, in large part, as an enemy of the grassroots. And then the impeachment of Ken Paxton really brought all of that to the surface," he said.

Conservatives like Little and many of the dozen-plus up-and-coming Republicans who ousted their incumbents take issue with some institutional mechanisms of the House. They want to stop appointing members of the minority party to chair committees, a longstanding practice meant to encourage bipartisanship. They want to oust the House Parliamentarian, meant to be a neutral arbiter of House rules but one some conservatives see as killing conservative bills for technical infractions.

And they want to codify impeachment procedures to require more representation and transparency than was granted to Paxton last year.

"Did they have the right to investigate Ken Paxton? There's no question they did. The problem is not whether they had the authority to do it. The problem is whether they did it correctly and whether the concerns were legitimate," Little said. "If you have the accused person with an opportunity to be represented by counsel and to introduce evidence in that process, a lot of this could have been resolved on the front end."

To be sure, The Texas House under Speaker Dade Phelan's leadership has been one of the most conservative legislative bodies in the nation -- passing bans on abortion and college diversity programs, approving billions of dollars for border security and tax cuts, and allowing Texans to carry firearms without training or a license.

Still, procedural critiques have led to a growing field of challengers gunning for Speaker Phelan's post. Phelan faced a formidable primary challenger backed by the likes of Donald Trump and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. He survived a runoff by 366 votes.

There are now six representatives running for speaker -- Tom Oliverson, Shelby Slawson, David Cook, James Frank, John Smithee, and Ana-Maria Ramos.

Ramos, notably, is the only Democrat to run for the top post in the Republican chamber. She said her top priority is supporting public schools and defending against Gov. Greg Abbott's push to subsidize private school tuition with state dollars.

"We haven't had somebody to really go out there and fight," Ramos told Nexstar. "Whatever it takes to protect our public schools, it does not have to be me. I will do whatever it takes and unified as a party, but we need to stay unified to protect our public schools."

For his part, Phelan is intent on maintaining the post. He is unlikely to secure a majority of Republican votes, though. He'll need to win with large Democratic support. Little thinks that path is politically perilous.

"(I) think that is very perilous, not only for the legislative session, which is going to be in total war, but it's perilous for those Republicans who decide to work in league with the Democrats to reappoint Dade Phelan as a speaker," Little said. "I think they'll be facing the primary battles of their lives."