He’s not shy, I’ll give him that.
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush will “keep all options open” about a potential bid for attorney general in 2022 as current Attorney General Ken Paxton grapples with a mutiny from his senior staff and the spectre of a criminal investigation, a senior adviser for Bush said Monday.
“Several donors have asked Commissioner Bush to consider running for Attorney General in 2022 in light of the recent allegations about that office,” Ash Wright, a senior political adviser for Bush, said in a statement to The Texas Tribune. “Commissioner Bush has always said he will ‘keep all options open’ and that remains his policy. Like many conservative leaders around the state, he is very concerned about the allegations regarding Paxton.”
Bush, son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and nephew of former President George W. Bush, is the only member of the well-known Republican family to currently hold office, though a cousin, Pierce Bush, ran unsuccessfully this year for the GOP nomination in Texas’ 22nd Congressional District. He was elected in 2014 to oversee the Texas General Land Office, a statewide position.
Ian Prior, a political spokesman for Paxton, said the attorney general — who has called the aides’ allegations false — “is absolutely planning on running again, is looking forward to winning a third term and is never going to stop fighting for the people of Texas.”
Look, you can’t expect George P Bush to just be Land Commissioner forever. He was meant for bigger things. Attorney General sounds nice, and that Paxton fellow has gotten himself into a spot of trouble, so why shouldn’t he try this on for size?
It’s not clear at this time that conditions will be favorable to a Paxton primary challenge. He hasn’t committed any acts of heresy or betrayal, just maybe a few silly little felonies, the sort of thing that could happen to anyone. So far, other than Chip Roy, who has his own election to worry about, no Republicans have done anything more than express a bit of mild concern. If Paxton does get himself into a situation that he can’t weasel his way out of, there’s no way that George P Bush will have the anti-Paxton field to himself. He’s been in a prolonged pissing contest with Dan Patrick about the Alamo (it’s too dumb for me to keep close track of, so go google it yourself), so one assumes there would be a Patrick-approved contestant in that race. But we’re getting way ahead of ourselves, as Paxton is still there and as yet is not fatally wounded. George P Bush is doing what he does best, which is getting his name out there and making sure people know he’s ready for his next big thing, whatever that may be.
(Note: This story was from before the election. Too much news, remember? I doubt anything has happened since then to change our boy’s trajectory. Also, as a reminder, former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski has announced his Democratic candidacy for AG.)
Is he licensed to practice law? Has he ever engaged in actual law practice?