The last time Texas’s 26th District was open, OB-GYN Michael Burgess won the GOP primary in an upset, defeating then-Denton County Judge Scott Armey — whose father, outgoing House Majority Leader Dick Armey, had held the seat for nearly two decades — in the runoff by 10 points.
Twenty-two years later, Burgess is retiring, and Scott Armey has another shot at his father’s old seat. But he’ll first have to get through a crowded GOP primary; out of the 11 Republicans on the ballot, five are seen as credible candidates. And one has already drawn Donald Trump’s support.
The 26th District is anchored by the rapidly-growing suburbs of Denton County, north of Fort Worth. And although the once bright-red area has become much more politically mixed since Burgess was first elected, Republican mapmakers cleverly carved the left-leaning city of Denton (home to the University of North Texas) out of the seat in 2021 redistricting, ensuring the GOP primary will be tantamount to election.
The former president endorsed Brandon Gill, conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza’s 29-year-old son-in-law. Gill, one of just three
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