The Blast- June 27, 2025

24 days until the first special session

IN TODAY’S BLAST

• Out: Schatzline. In: Wambsganss.

• GOP censure updates for the coming days

• ICYMI: Alligator Alcatraz

OUT: SCHATZLINE. IN: WAMBSGANSS.

Patriot Mobile executive-level officer Leigh Wambsganss has won the Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick sweepstakes for Senate District 9, and state Rep. Nate Schatzline will instead run for reelection.

It was a shocking turn of events for Schatzline, a second term conservative darling from Fort Worth, who entered the race on Tuesday with a host of local endorsements. But Leigh Wambsganss (pronounced lee womz-gonz) netted the biggest endorsement.

Wambsganss’ press release this afternoon listed Allen Blakemore as the point of contact for her campaign. As discussed in Wednesday’s edition of The Blast, Blakemore is Patrick’s consultant and a gatekeeper to the Texas Senate.

Minutes after Wambsganss announced, Schatzline dropped out of the SD 9 race and endorsed Wambsganss. Then, Patrick endorsed Wambsganss, boxing out anyone else who could run in the far-right lane.

Wambsganss is the chief communications officer for Patriot Mobile, a politically active Christian cell phone company whose PAC has operated in North Texas, focusing on school board elections and other local offices. Schatzline has been among the most conservative House members in his first two terms.

A source familiar with Schatzline’s campaign told The Blast that Schatzline had understood that he would earn Patrick’s endorsement, but the endorsement never came. What’s more, Patrick’s endorsement of Wambsganss came less than an hour after she announced.

Today’s maneuvering centers around the far-right lane of the Republican primary, but the more traditional business lane is still up for grabs — assuming someone feels they can muster the cash to take on Patrick’s preferred candidate.

The Blast reported on Wednesday that Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker was considering a bid, but another source familiar with Parker’s campaign says that is not the case. Parker was just reelected last month.

Three sources tell The Blast that former Southlake Mayor and former congressional candidate John Huffman and former Tarrant Regional Water District board member James Hill are potential candidates.

Gov. Greg Abbott has set the special election for Nov. 4. The filing deadline will be at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 3.

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GOP CENSURE UPDATES FOR THE COMING DAYS

State Rep. Cody Harris is the next House Republican facing a censure to remove them from the 2026 primary ballot, with another censure on the way.

The Henderson County GOP’s executive committee will meet on Monday to consider a censure against the representative from Palestine, chair of the House Natural Resources Committee and a member of Speaker Dustin Burrows’ leadership team. A censure is also in the works against Rep. Stan Lambert of Abilene.

The drafted resolution docks him for 17 actions, a more detailed list than past censures. However, the resolution gets a lot of the details wrong.

The list includes some of the things that other Republican members have been censured for, like voting against Rep. David Cook for speaker and voting to stifle debate on the House rules. They also plan to censure him for voting in favor of the state budget, extending the lottery and the TV and film production incentive program backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

But the Henderson County GOP included Harris’ vote to ban “AI-generated political memes” — a misrepresentation of House BIll 366 — and at least eight times he voted “present” on important bills. The only problem is he voted present because he was the one presiding over the House floor at the time of the votes. The presiding member traditionally doesn’t vote.

Notably, they aren’t censuring “Capn Crush” for purposely trying to break the House gavels, a waste of taxpayer dollars.

County Republican parties are expected to adopt many more censures this summer and fall. At 6:30 p.m. today, the State Republican Executive Committee’s resolutions committee will meet over Zoom with the Taylor County GOP’s executive committee to help them censure Lambert, who has served for nearly a decade.

County parties have so far struggled to follow the Texas GOP’s strict guidelines for censures under the party’s new Rule 44. The SREC wants the censures to be air-tight. Once the GOP blocks censured incumbents from the primary ballot, those members are all but certain to sue.

Reps. Angie Chen Button of Garland, John McQueeney of Fort Worth, Morgan Meyer of University Park and Angelia Orr of Itasca have already been censured, but those that have gone before the resolutions committee haven’t followed the guidelines. The SREC has said it will take up proper censures after its August meeting.

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ICYMI: ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ

A storyline to watch from Texas’ competitor on the other side of the Gulf: Florida and Gov. Ron DeSantis are opening up “Alligator Alcatraz” and potentially another migrant detention center to support President Donald Trump’s illegal immigration effort.

The state says Alligator Alcatraz will have 5,000 detention beds by early July in the heart of the gator- and python-infested Everglades west of Miami, making it a daunting place to escape from. Critics say it’s a politically motivated and cruel spectacle. It’s also a potential model for other Republican-led states.

As governors of the nation’s two most populous Republican-controlled states, Greg Abbott and DeSantis have previously engaged in what was perceived as a competition to be the country’s conservative figurehead. The competition, like around migrant buses and flights, spurred speculation about a presidential contest.

But with President Donald Trump now firmly back as the nation’s Republican leader, it’s difficult for other conservatives to stand out. DeSantis may have found one way to cut through the noise.

Alligator Alcatraz will host immigrants who are in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Florida law enforcement officials under the 287(g) program. Texas’ 287(g) law, Senate Bill 8, is set to take effect at the beginning of 2026.

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HD-9: Angelina County Commissioner Rocky Thigpen launched a campaign for the seat held by state Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin, who is running for the state Senate. “Trent represented this district with dignity and brought many wins for our region,” Thigpen said in a statement. “I look forward to building on those successes and continuing that tradition of effective, conservative leadership here in East Texas.”

• Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson addressed New York City residents and business owners on social media after democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s NYC mayoral primary victory: “Don’t panic! Just move to Dallas, where we strongly support our police, value our partners in the business community, embrace free markets, shun excessive regulation, and protect the American Dream!”

• Texans for Lawsuit Reform declared its support for three Texas Supreme Court decisions regarding SpaceX, Oncor and Werner Enterprises v. Blake. “The increase in the number and amount of nuclear verdicts — verdicts of $10 million or more — is distorting Texas’s legal system and discouraging capital investment in Texas,” TLR said in a statement. “The decisions delivered today will begin to improve our litigation environment.”

“Democrats Allred, Castro, O’Rourke, Talarico meet to discuss 2026 options” by Gromer Jeffers Jr. of The Dallas Morning News

Column: “Ted Cruz stumbles on a source of monetary madness” by Joseph C. Sternberg of The Wall Street Journal

Opinion: “I’m dedicating my life to fighting for a psychedelic drug” by former U.S. Energy Secretary and Gov. Rick Perry in The Washington Post

From the docket

“Fate of birthright citizenship order unresolved after Supreme Court limits nationwide injunctions” by Uriel J. García, Carlos Nogueras Ramos and Berenice Garcia of The Texas Tribune and The Associated Press

“Texas can require porn websites to verify users’ ages, Supreme Court rules” by Kayla Guo and Eleanor Klibanoff of The Texas Tribune

“Gov. Greg Abbott, AG Ken Paxton do not have to release Uvalde or Jan. 6 emails, Texas Supreme Court rules” by Sneha Dey of The Texas Tribune

Do you or someone in your office have a birthday you’d like mentioned? Email us.

(June 27) State Rep. Mike Schofield
(June 28) Texas Politics Project Jim Henson
(June 28) Elon Musk
(June 29) State Rep. Charles “Doc” Anderson
(June 29) Brandon Formby of The Texas Tribune

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Disclosure: Oncor and Texans for Lawsuit Reform have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.