Republicans plotting stunning power grab if red state official loses election: report

Texas Republicans are plotting a power grab in the event that Democrats manage to unseat one of the state's most powerful leaders, Harvey Kronberg's Quorum Report said on Monday."With public and private GOP polling showing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick potentially losing to a lawmaker whose name ID mostly comes from Patrick’s campaign commercials, multiple sources have confirmed to Quorum Report in recent days that an overhaul of how the Texas Senate is led may be coming next year. Namely: Stripping the Lt. Governor of all legislative powers if Democratic nominee Vikki Goodwin beats Patrick next month," said the report.In Texas, the lieutenant governor also serves as president of the state Senate, and has unusually strong legislative powers. However, a recent report from the Texas Tribune last week outlined how Republicans could take the teeth out of the office in the event Goodwin wins the election.In particular, the report noted that...