Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan was renominated in a runoff Tuesday, surviving a painful Republican primary for a party activist and first-time candidate backed by former President Donald J. Trump and his Texas supporters.
The race, in a southeastern Texas district that includes part of the city of Beaumont, was a bitter political showdown between some of the most powerful players in Texas politics, and was likely one of the most expensive ever for a Texas seat House. .
Millions flocked to the campaigns during the primaries, including major donations from West Texas oil and gas billionaires and school choice advocates from out of state who backed the challenger, David Covey. For his part, Mr. Phelan received help from deep-pocketed donors such as Miriam Adelson, the Las Vegas casino magnate and widow of Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson.
Mr. Covey, a technical consultant to the oil and gas industry who has described himself as a “very committed Christian and conservative,” led Mr. Phelan in the first round of voting in March, when neither candidate won a majority.
But during the runoff, Mr. Phelan rallied his supporters and campaign workers, significantly outscoring his opponent through mid-May.
“We came so close,” Mr. Covey said in a speech to supporters in Orange, Texas. He added that his campaign had sparked a movement even in defeat.
As Mr. Phelan announced victory in Beaumont on Tuesday evening, he told a packed room of campaign volunteers, supporters and several members of the Texas House that the campaign against him was based on “lies” and “deception.”
“We're done with that.” said Mr. Phelan. “Huiswijk 21 is not for sale.”
The call for Mr. Phelan, who had not faced a challenger from either party in a decade, would likely resonate in Republican politics. His campaign raised more than $12.6 million to defend him.
Many activist Republicans in Texas view Mr. Phelan as insufficiently conservative. Chief among their complaints: He supported the Texas House's long-standing practice of giving part of the committee chairmanship to the opposing party.
Mr. Phelan's ouster became the biggest price demanded by a far-right faction of the Republican Party that also includes Attorney General Ken Paxton and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. That faction, aligned with Mr. Trump, has sought to reshape the Texas House, a moderating force in state politics, in the mold of the more rigidly conservative Texas Senate.
Defending Mr. Phelan became the goal of many members of the party's old guard, including a former governor, Rick Perry, who campaigned on Mr. Phelan's behalf and appeared with him several times during the primaries.
The aggressive focus on Mr. Phelan came after the Texas House voted last year to impeach Mr. Paxton on charges of corruption and abuse of office. (Mr. Paxton was acquitted in a Senate trial presided over by Mr. Patrick.)
And it followed a session in which a small number of rural Republicans in the Texas House again blocked proposals for state-funded vouchers that families could use to send children to private schools.
Gov. Greg Abbott, who has campaigned against Texas House members who opposed the voucher proposals, remained on the sidelines in Mr. Phelan's primary.
While it is now highly likely that Mr. Phelan will be re-elected to his heavily Republican seat in November, it is not guaranteed that he will serve another term as chairman. Some Republican representatives have already been suggested as possible replacements, paving the way for a renewed battle for control of the Texas House.