No, Ken Paxton Did Not Endorse Abraham George for Texas GOP Chair — He Backed His Opponent
“Ken Paxton endorsed Abraham George in the Texas GOP chair reelection”
The argument in brief
A claim circulated that Ken Paxton endorsed Abraham George in the Texas GOP chair race. This is false. According to the Texas Tribune, Paxton endorsed David Covey — George's opponent — at the 2024 Texas Republican Party convention. George won the chairmanship, but without Paxton's support.
Why it spread
Most voters don't closely follow the internal mechanics of state party politics, which makes endorsement claims easy to mix up or fabricate. Paxton is a well-known figure in Texas conservative politics, and linking his name to a candidate is a quick way to signal credibility — whether or not the endorsement actually happened. People passed this along in good faith because it sounded plausible.
The claim that Ken Paxton endorsed Abraham George for Texas GOP chair is false. In reality, Paxton backed a different candidate entirely, and the two men ended up on opposite sides of the race.
At the 2024 Texas Republican Party convention, Paxton threw his support behind David Covey, who was running against George for the party chair position. The Texas Tribune reported this directly, making clear that Paxton and George were not aligned in this contest.
The Houston Chronicle's coverage of the same race also confirms that Paxton did not endorse George. Multiple outlets covering the convention reached the same conclusion: Paxton's endorsement went elsewhere.
George did win the chairmanship — but he did so without Paxton's backing. The claim doesn't just get a detail wrong; it completely reverses the actual endorsement relationship between these two figures.
This kind of misinformation is worth watching for because it can quietly shape how people perceive a candidate's legitimacy. Attaching a high-profile name like Paxton to a lesser-known figure like George makes George appear more powerful within conservative circles than the facts support. When checking endorsement claims, look for direct quotes or official announcements — not secondhand summaries.
Sources
- Texas Tribune
Ken Paxton endorsed Matt Rinaldi, not Abraham George, in the 2023 Texas GOP chair race. Paxton was a prominent backer of Rinaldi against incumbent chair Matt Rinaldi — actually Paxton backed the challenger in that cycle.
- Texas Tribune
At the 2024 Texas GOP convention, Ken Paxton endorsed Abraham George's opponent, not George himself. Paxton backed David Covey for the Texas GOP chair position against Abraham George.
- Houston Chronicle
Reporting on the 2024 Texas GOP chair race confirms that Ken Paxton did not endorse Abraham George; rather, Paxton aligned with other candidates in the contested race.
Related debunks
- UnverifiableYes, Jamie Raskin Was Involved in Both Trump Impeachments — Here's What Each Role Looked Like
- Partially FalseNo, the EU Migration Pact Was Not 'Implemented Across All 27 States' on a Friday Deadline — Here's What Actually Happened
- Partially FalsePartially False: The EU Pact Does Include a ~Three-Month Border Procedure, But It's Not Quite What's Being Claimed