Posted on Tuesday, November 23, 2021 | 04:35

Updated 10 minutes ago

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – United States Representative Louie Gohmert has joined the overcrowded group of Republicans launching primary challenges against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The East Texas lawmaker is the latest prominent Republican to seek to overthrow his party’s incumbent president in the wake of Paxton’s top MPs reporting him to the FBI last year for alleged corruption. Gohmert announced his candidacy on Twitter on Monday with a fundraising request highlighting “the latest ethical, moral and criminal allegations” against Paxton.

Despite the federal investigation and long-standing legal issues, Paxton remained competitive in his party’s primary and won the backing of former President Donald Trump. The attorney general, who has launched a lawsuit to overturn Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election, has denied any wrongdoing.

Gohmert is also a strong supporter of Trump. He said in a video posted to Twitter that he supported many of the cases presented by Paxton’s office, but that if elected he “wouldn’t wait to be the busiest until he there is bad press on legal irregularities “.

Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, son of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and grandson of former President George HW Bush, is also running in the Republican primary; former Supreme Court justice Eva Guzman; and State Representative Matt Krause of Fort Worth.