Rookie candidate Brandon Gill won the Texas GOP primary to succeed longtime U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess. But some Republicans spent big money to keep him away.
WASHINGTON — Brandon Gill is on a glide path to becoming the next congressman of Texas’ ruby red 26th Congressional District, after beating a crowded pool of Republicans in the primary to replace retiring U.S. Rep.
Gill said his biggest policy objectives include securing the border, slashing federal spending and combating the “weaponization of the federal government” against conservatives and Christians — goals he stressed put him in line with Trump. The policy goals are largely in line with most newer House Republicans and are similar to those fellow front runners Scott Armey, a former Denton County judge, and John Huffman, mayor of Southlake, outlined before the primary.
Gill moved back to Texas the same year he entered the political scene, working on the production and marketing of “2,000 Mules,” a documentary by D’Souza that claimed the 2020 election was stolen. It’s a favorite of Trump’s, who has promoted the documentary and hosted a screening of it at his Mar-A-Lago estate. The documentary insinuates that large numbers of activists stuffed ballot drop locations based on cell phone data. The documentary becameNumerous court cases debunked the documentary.
But Armey and Huffman have lived in the area for years and established records and strong name recognition. Gill, on the other hand, relies largely on the Trump name with no record in public service to lean on.Republican megadonors spent over $2.1 million trying to dissuade voters from nominating Gill.
The groups targeted a handful of far-right conservative candidates throughout the country this cycle, including in the 12th Congressional District Republican primary where state Rep.ran against Paxton-backed business owner John O’Shea. In that cycle, the ads both attacked O’Shea and supported Goldman . In the 26th district, the ads were targeted squarely at bringing down Gill.
Other major donors include Rob Walton, the retired Walmart scion who gave $2 million to America Leads Action, and Jay Faison, the president of conservative climate change group ClearPath Action who gave $2.43 million. Neither Walton nor Faison responded to requests for comment through their organizations.Gill said his victory proved the weight of the Trump endorsement, even nearly four years after his presidency, and that the never-Trump faction of the party was a dying breed.
Armey’s campaign was optimistic about getting into the runoff. In the last three months before the primary election, polling by Armey’s campaign found 34% percent of voters were undecided. Armey’s team aggressively targeted those voters up to election day, hoping to win them over.“I was a little surprised it didn't go to a runoff with eleven people running,” Burgess said. “So kudos to Brandon Gill from being able to put together a plan that got him a high enough percentage.
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