Morning Digest: Republicans hate this GOP congressman. He wants a promotion.

Can you piss off Donald Trump, Ken Paxton, and Mike Johnson—and still win?

Texas Rep. Chip Roy (R) (credit: Chip Roy Facebook)

Leading Off

TX-AG, TX-21

Rep. Chip Roy, a Freedom Caucus member who's long had an abysmal relationship with Donald Trump and other major Republicans, announced Thursday that he would enter the busy GOP primary for Texas attorney general rather than seek a fifth term in Congress.

Roy launched his campaign to replace incumbent Ken Paxton, who is giving up this powerful post to challenge Republican Sen. John Cornyn for renomination, by attempting to portray himself as a MAGA ally.

Morning Digest: A powerful office is now open for only the third time this century

"I fought to secure our border and help President Trump deliver results," Roy tells the audience in his launch video. That may be news to Trump, who has repeatedly called for a Republican challenger to step up and end Roy's career in the House.

Paxton may likewise be surprised to hear that Roy, who was the attorney general's top deputy before his 2018 election to Congress, told a conservative radio host this week that the two are friends. Roy called for Paxton to resign in 2020 after he was accused of corruption, saying at the time the post was "too critical to the state and her people to leave in chaos."

Roy, who had served as chief of staff to Sen. Ted Cruz before he worked for Paxton, also wound up on the opposite side of both of his old bosses and Trump after the 2020 elections. While Paxton unsuccessfully sued to overturn Joe Biden's victory and Cruz objected to the electoral results, Roy believed there was nothing to be done about the outcome.

In a statement issued three days before the Jan. 6 riot, the congressman and five colleagues said that, while they believed there were "significant abuses in our election system," it wasn't their job to "determine which electors the states should have sent." (South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace signed onto this document during her momentary stint as a Trump critic.)

Roy then broke with the majority of his caucus after the attack on the Capitol by voting to recognize Biden's win. The following week, he delivered a speech saying that Trump "deserves universal condemnation for what was clearly impeachable conduct," though he denounced the effort to impeach him.

Trump, unsurprisingly, wasn't mollified by that last bit. That spring, the GOP's master attacked Roy's effort to become the number-three Republican in the House leadership, writing, "Can't imagine Republican House Members would go with Chip Roy—he has not done a great job, and will probably be successfully primaried in his own district."

Trump was correct that the GOP caucus would opt for New York Rep. Elise Stefanik over Roy, but his prophesies about the Texan's political future were decidedly off-base. Roy instead secured renomination in 2022 with 83% of the vote in the 21st Congressional District, a dark red seat that includes northern parts of San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country.

Roy was easily reelected that fall, but he spent the following year giving just about every faction of the GOP one reason or another to hate him all over again.

Roy was initially one of Kevin McCarthy's most ardent critics in the prolonged election for speaker, though he eventually helped McCarthy win over the dissenters he needed. The Texan later denounced the successful drive to end McCarthy's speakership, saying, "Some of our brothers and sisters—particularly in the, you know, MAGA camp, I think—particularly enjoy the circular firing squad."

Roy pissed off Trump anew that same year by endorsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president. He also praised one of Paxton's main accusers shortly before the state Senate acquitted the attorney general in his impeachment trial.

Despite racking up legions of enemies, Roy avoided any opposition in the primary last year, even though Trump renewed his demand for a primary challenge. Luckily for Roy, though, Trump didn't issue his call until several days after the state's filing deadline had already passed.

Trump was back to hollering for Roy's ouster soon after Election Day last year, after the congressman opposed his last-second call to abolish the debt ceiling without Roy's desired spending cuts. No notable candidates, however, had heeded Trump's call to run for the 21st District, which remains reliably red under the state's new gerrymander, before the congressman decided to give up his seat.

Since getting sworn in for another term in January, Roy has regularly—and vocally— insisted that he can't back key priorities supported by Speaker Mike Johnson and the GOP caucus because they don't meet his ideological standards, only to regularly fall in line when it's time to actually vote. House leaders are unlikely to miss him.

The March 3 GOP primary for attorney general also includes former Department of Justice official Aaron Reitz, who has deep connections in MAGAworld, as well as state Sens. Joan Huffman and Mayes Middleton. A runoff would take place on May 26 if no one earns a majority of the vote in the first round.

The Democratic lineup currently consists of state Sen. Nathan Johnson and former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski. Both candidates are hoping that a backlash against Trump, as well as GOP infighting, will give them the chance to become the first Democrat to win the attorney general's office since 1994.

Morning Digest: Democrats in two red states are eyeing bids for attorney general

How CA Dems aim to squeeze out the GOP

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Redistricting Roundup

CA Redistricting

California's Democratic-dominated state legislature voted largely along party lines on Thursday to put a constitutional amendment before voters that would ask them to temporarily replace the state's congressional districts in response to an effort by Texas Republicans to gerrymander their own map.

The measure, which was championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom but did not require his signature, will appear on the ballot in a special election on Nov. 4. Voters will decide whether to adopt a new map for the remainder of the decade that targets five Republican-held seats and shores up several potentially vulnerable Democratic incumbents.

Separately, lawmakers approved—and Newsom signed—legislation that would codify the proposed map into law should the amendment pass, as well as another bill to fund the special election.

Morning Digest: Responding to Texas, California Democrats release new map targeting GOP seats

Governors

CT-Gov

New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart leads state Sen. Ryan Fazio 42-13 in next year's GOP primary for governor, according to a new internal poll commissioned by her campaign. A trio of other contenders are all at 3% or below, while 35% are undecided in the survey from OnMessage.

NJ-Gov

A new poll from Rutgers University finds Democrat Mikie Sherrill with a 47-37 lead over Republican Jack Ciattarelli in November's race for New Jersey's open governorship, but it features a couple of perplexing details.

For one, Sherrill's vote share dropped dramatically compared to the school's previous poll conducted two months ago, which gave her a much wider 56-35 edge. For another, the share of undecideds went up—from 6% to 12%—even though more voters typically make up their minds as an election draws nearer.

An accompanying memo doesn't seek to explain either phenomenon, beyond saying that "the race is competitive and will continue to be in flux."

PA-Gov

Rep. Dan Meuser, who was Donald Trump's pick to take on Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro before saying no last month, has endorsed state Treasurer Stacy Garrity's newly launched bid. Garrity is the only major Republican running, but far-right state Sen. Doug Mastriano is still considering the race—and recently crapped on Garrity's campaign kickoff.

House

CA-38, CA-41

Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis plans to run for the proposed 38th District if California voters approve the new congressional map this November, Julia Wick reports in the Los Angeles Times. Solis, a Democrat who previously served in the House from 2001 to 2009, did not respond to Wick's inquiries.

Democratic Rep. Linda Sanchez represents the existing 38th, but the two former colleagues don't appear to be on a collision course.

Wick writes that Sanchez is "likely planning to run" for the proposed 41st District, another reliably blue seat that includes almost half of her current constituency. (Another 40% live in the proposed 38th.) This incarnation of the 41st, which doesn't overlap with GOP Rep. Ken Calvert's seat bearing that same number, would otherwise lack an incumbent.

Sanchez, who was first elected in 2002, has never had trouble winning reelection regardless of the maps in place at the time, and there's no indication that 2026 would be any different. Solis, who left Congress to become Barack Obama's first secretary of labor, also appears well-situated to return should the new maps go into effect.

"It kind of looks like Hilda Solis has completely sewn up that seat in one night of making phone calls," an unnamed consultant told Wick. "And the excitement of a brand new seat was quickly extinguished."

However, not everyone wants the 67-year-old Solis, who cannot seek reelection to her powerful post overseeing the nation's largest county, to claim what she's reportedly already calling "my seat."

"The Democratic Party has an opportunity to elect a new generation of leaders that can inspire the voter base and can inspire the future of the Democratic Party," former Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo said.

Carrillo, who unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council last year, does not appear to have talked about running herself.

NH-01

Conservative activist Elizabeth Girard filed paperwork on Wednesday with the FEC for a potential campaign for the open 1st District, but her fellow New Hampshire Republicans were anything but delighted with the news.

"There was more spontaneous reaction to news of Elizabeth Girard's candidacy— overwhelmingly negative —than any candidate announcement in NHJournal history," the conservative outlet tweeted Thursday.

Girard resigned as president of the New Hampshire Federation of Women in 2023 after she broke its neutrality rules and endorsed Donald Trump ahead of the presidential primary. Girard had previously insisted that other members of the group follow those rules and refrain from backing any GOP White House hopefuls.

"She's a snake," an unnamed activist told NHJournal's Michael Graham at the time.

The quotes Graham is hearing now are hardly any nicer.

"Someone with no discernible skills or professional background who loves being the center of attention?" said one insider, "She'll be right at home in Washington, D.C."

Several candidates from both parties are already running to succeed Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who is leaving this competitive seat to run for the Senate. There is no obvious frontrunner on either side.

SC-01

Dorchester County Councilman Jay Byars, who's been considering a bid for South Carolina's conservative 1st District since April, now says he has an announcement coming after Labor Day.

Byars would be the second notable Republican to join the race since Rep. Nancy Mace kicked off her bid for governor earlier this month, following the entry of state Rep. Mark Smith. On the Democratic side, Mac Deford, an attorney and Coast Guard veteran, is the only notable candidate so far.

SC-05

Far-right Rep. Ralph Norman, who kicked off a bid for governor late last month, has endorsed state Sen. Wes Climer to succeed him in Congress. Climer is so far the only prominent Republican running for South Carolina's 5th District, a very conservative constituency located in the Charlotte suburbs and the rural north-central part of the state.

TX-09

Far-right Texas state Rep. Briscoe Cain on Thursday became the first prominent Republican to file FEC paperwork for a potential campaign in the overhauled 9th District, a conservative constituency in the Houston area that has almost nothing in common geographically or politically with the heavily Democratic district it would replace.

Cain, who serves as chair of the state's branch of the nihilistic Freedom Caucus, is seeking to replace longtime Democratic Rep. Al Green. Green, who is 78, says he'll run for office again, but he hasn't yet announced where. The revamped 9th would have backed Donald Trump 59-40, while Kamala Harris carried the existing version 71-27.

Cain, for his part, won his spot in the legislature in 2016 following a truly ugly primary battle against a GOP incumbent.

During that race, allies of state Rep. Wayne Smith circulated fliers insinuating that Cain was "well known" to patrons at "night clubs and gay bars." The challenger, whose campaign denounced those claims as "false" and "desperate," went on to secure the nomination by 23 votes before easily prevailing in the general election.

Cain has since had no trouble hanging on to his seat in the legislature. In 2019, though, he attracted outsized attention when he responded to Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke's call for a mandatory assault weapon buyback plan by tweeting, "My AR is ready for you."

Cain, whose account on the service then known as Twitter was suspended for months, later traveled to Pennsylvania days after the 2020 election as a volunteer attorney for the Trump campaign. He soon became chair of the House Elections Committee, an appointment that enraged voting rights activists.

There's one Lone Star State hardliner he doesn't get along with, though. In 2023, Cain served as an impeachment manager against Attorney General Ken Paxton, whom the state Senate ultimately acquitted on corruption charges.

TX-35

San Antonio City Councilman Marc Whyte is the latest Republican to express interest in seeking the transmogrified 35th District, a Democratic-held constituency that would become considerably redder under the new map and bear little resemblance to its predecessor. Democratic Rep. Greg Casar, who represents the current 35th, has said he would not run there if the new map becomes law and is likely to instead pursue the 37th.

TX-37

Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett said Thursday that he would not run again next year if the courts uphold the Texas GOP's new congressional gerrymander. Doggett, who was first elected to Congress in 1994, added that he'd continue to run for the Austin-based 37th District "[i]f this racially gerrymandered Trump map is rejected, as it should be."

Either scenario would avert what would have been a generational battle between Doggett, 78, and fellow Democratic Rep. Greg Casar, 36, for the safely blue 37th.

Doggett's announcement came the same day that several high-profile Austin Democrats published a piece in the Austin Chronicle calling on the 16-term congressman to "Pass the Torch to a New Generation."

Doggett, though, isn't hiding how unhappy he is that his long electoral career, which began in 1972 when he was elected to the state Senate at the age of 26, appears to be coming to an end this way.

He expressed particular displeasure that Casar said he wouldn't seek to defend the redrawn 35th District—a conservative constituency that has little in common with Casar's current district beyond sharing a number.

"I had hoped that my commitment to reelection under any circumstances would encourage Congressman Casar to not surrender his winnable district to Trump," Doggett said in a statement. "While his apparent decision is most unfortunate, I prefer to devote the coming months to fighting Trump tyranny and serving Austin rather than waging a struggle with fellow Democrats."

Casar, a former member of the Austin City Council whose home base would be nowhere near the revamped 35th, has left little doubt that he would run in the redrawn 37th. Doggett himself announced earlier this month that he would also campaign here no matter what, a plan he backed down from on Thursday.

Secretaries of State & Attorneys General

OH-SoS, OH-AG

Ohio state Rep. Allison Russo, who had previously declined to rule out a bid for governor, announced Thursday that she would instead seek the Democratic nomination for secretary of state. Russo, who stepped down as minority leader in June, joins oncologist Bryan Hambley in the primary for this open post.

Russo's decision comes as Buckeye State Democrats are looking to field more candidates to try to break the GOP's near-total lock on statewide office. Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner, who is up for reelection next year, is the only Democrat who still holds a statewide office; her tenure as secretary of state from 2007 to 2011 also makes her the last Democrat to serve as Ohio's chief election administrator.

Democrats, though, may soon land a high-profile name for attorney general. Summit County Prosecutor Elliot Kolkovich, whose jurisdiction includes Akron, told Cleveland.com this week that he's interested in seeking the job. Kolkovich would face former state Rep. Elliot Forhan, who lost renomination last year after a single disastrous term in the legislature, for the Democratic nod.

Several Republicans who currently hold statewide office, meanwhile, are playing a game of electoral musical chairs as they hit the two-term limit that bars them from seeking reelection.

Treasurer Robert Sprague is running to replace Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who wants Auditor Keith Faber's job. Faber, for his part, is campaigning to succeed Attorney General Dave Yost.

But the music has already stopped for Yost. The attorney general's campaign to succeed term-limited Gov. Mike DeWine ended in May after he finally accepted that he couldn't defeat businessman Vivek Ramaswamy in the GOP primary.

Mayors & County Leaders

Minneapolis, MN Mayor

A state Democratic committee announced Thursday that it was revoking the party's endorsement of state Sen. Omar Fateh, who is opposing Mayor Jacob Frey on Nov. 4, over what it called "substantial failures in the convention's voting process." The move also prohibited a new vote.

Fateh's team said it was considering appealing the decision to the party's executive committee. His campaign, though, blasted the move as "disenfranchisement of thousands of Minneapolis caucus-goers and the delegates who represented all of us on convention day."

The committee concluded that convention organizers had used a "flawed electronic voting system" that resulted in a third candidate, pastor DeWayne Davis, being improperly eliminated after the first ballot. The move to "vacate" the endorsement now allows all the candidates to use the party's voter database, which Fateh alone had access to after winning the Democratic endorsement.