As early voting continues in the March primary election, conservatives are supporting Clint Morgan over incumbent Scott Walker for a seat in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Though judicial races are often uncontested and overlooked amid the publicity of statewide races, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals recently drew a spotlight after ruling that the Office of the Attorney General does not have the authority to prosecute voter fraud cases. They argued instead that district and county attorneys have sole authority to prosecute those crimes.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the court to reconsider their ruling, claiming the decision opens the door for rampant voter fraud in counties with already questionable voting practices. However, incumbent Judge Walker and his colleagues on the court voted 8-1 to remove criminal prosecutorial power in voter fraud from the AG.
Judge Walker was elected in 2016 following Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s failed presidential campaign, and many theorized that the shared name of a famous conservative was a deciding factor in the election.
Now, Walker’s challenger Clint Morgan is receiving support from many conservative organizations.
The True Texas Project board unanimously recommended Morgan, noting that “this is Texas’s chance to undo a silly vote for Scott Walker, who only won because he has the same name as someone famous! Walker joined the Stephens’ opinion stripping the TX Attorney General of his ability to enforce election laws.”
Grassroots America – We The People endorsed Morgan, stating, “That Court desperately needs clear-thinking, principled originalists on the bench,” and called Morgan “An originalist in the mold of US Supreme Court Justices Thomas and Alito, when Clint interprets the Constitution or a law, he respects its original meaning and does the arduous work of digging out the legal history from original sources. He will not legislate from the bench!”
iVoterGuide evaluated both Morgan and Walker and found that although Walker leans originalist, Morgan received a conditional rating of originalist due to his responses on the candidate questionnaire.
Texas Right to Life and multiple local conservative groups also endorsed Morgan.
Early voting began on February 14 and will conclude on February 25. Election Day is March 1.
