Gohmert announces intent to run for attorney general

Congressman Louie Gohmert, R-Texas has informally announced that he will be seeking the Texas Attorney General’s post currently held by Ken Paxton. Gohmert currently is the Representative for the First Congressional District of Texas. It appears at this point that he will be vacating his post to pursue the Texas Attorney Generals Post. Paxton who currently holds the post has been plagued by trouble for some time and the concern is that if Paxton wins the Republican nomination again for the post the seat could become vulnerable to several democrats that are running.

Gohmert would possibly have been Cass County’s new representative should he have decided to run again, since District 1 will now be Cass Counties’ new district after the redistricting. Gohmert, along with being a politician, is also an attorney, and a former jurist. He has been serving as the U.S. Representative from Texas’s 1st congressional district since 2005.

The current attorney general Paxton has been under indictment since 2015 on securities fraud charges relating to activities prior to taking office; he has pleaded not guilty. Additionally, Wikipedia notes that “in October 2020, several high-level assistants in Paxton’s office accused him of ‘bribery, abuse of office and other crimes.”

According to the Texas Tribune, “Paxton is accused of persuading investors to buy stock in a technology firm without disclosing he would be compensated for it. He was a member of the Texas House at the time. Paxton denies any wrongdoing and says the accusations are politically motivated.” His case has been allowed to move forward in his home county of Collin County.

The Tyler Morning Telegraph reported that Gohmert “announced his plans during an event Tuesday in Tyler and through a campaign website that became live the same day.”

The website, gohmert.net seeks donations and notes that, “we need a Texas Attorney General whose top attorneys working for him have not found it necessary to send a letter to the FBI urging an investigation into corruption of their boss.

“This is not at all like Obama loyalists working in the Trump administration who worked to get rid of Republican President Trump. It is true that the current Texas Attorney General filed some popular Republican-favored lawsuits, especially in the last year AFTER the latest ethical, moral, and criminal allegations against him arose from his top staff.

“Keep in mind, under Texas law, if someone wins a Texas primary, and is indicted after the primary, his name cannot be removed from the ballot. There are, in essence, basically two exceptions: If the primary winner is diagnosed with a terminal condition after the primary, or if he is nominated for another position (for example, someone is nominated for a federal position by the President after winning the primary). Neither exception applies to a newly indicted primary winner. It is very important to note that the closest opponent of the three currently announced to run against him is George P. Bush and he has only 18% among Republican voters.”

The Telegram article also notes that “Gohmert would join a crowded field of Republican candidates who are challenging Paxton in the primary, including Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, state Rep. Matt Krause and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman. Democratic challengers are Rochelle Garza, a former attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union; Joe Jaworski, attorney, mediator, and former mayor of Galveston; and Lee Merritt, civil rights attorney.”