Late Monday, East Texas Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert confirmed that he is, in fact, running for Texas attorney general.
Gohmert was first elected to his east Texas congressional seat in 2005.
He will join four other Republican candidates already in the race for attorney general, which include the incumbent Ken Paxton, current Land Commissioner George P. Bush, former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman, and current State Rep. Matt Krause (Haslet).
On November 9, Gohmert announced that he was “exploring” a run for the position and indicated on his campaign website that if he could raise $1 million in the first 10 days, he would run for the position.
Ten days later, he was scheduled to appear on The Mark Davis Show to announce whether he had reached the goal or not, but much to the host’s chagrin, Gohmert never appeared, leading many to speculate.
In his announcement video, he mentioned that he reached his $1 million goal and lamented Paxton’s alleged criminal conduct.
His candidacy almost certainly will set off a domino effect down-ballot, leaving many to speculate as to whether any currently elected officials will run to replace him.
Notably, Republican State Rep. Matt Schaefer (Tyler) announced on Sunday via Twitter that he would run for re-election to the Texas House of Representatives. Schaefer has been a rumored candidate to replace Gohmert in Congress.
Similarly, Republican State Sen. Bryan Hughes (Mineola) announced on November 12 that he would be running for re-election to the Texas Senate.
