Yet Mr. Trump-backed Mr. Abbott was booed at a Trump rally north of Houston in January, winning the crowd’s confidence only by mentioning the president’s name more than two dozen times in his six-minute speech.
“I think Greg Abbott has been around long enough,” said Anita Brown, 62, who attended a recent right-wing candidate rally in The Woodlands, a suburban enclave north of Houston. “I just wish I had someone new.”
In Texas, Mr. Trump suffered one of his rare primary losses last year in the race for the House of Representatives, and while he has issued a range of endorsements, from governor to Tarrant County District Attorney, he has mostly supported incumbents and clear favorites.
More serious tests of his influence loomed later in the spring and summer, in the Senate elections in North Carolina and Alabama, and in the gubernatorial elections in Georgia. In this race in Georgia, Trump hired David Purdue, a former senator and governor, to try to unseat Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican who refused to bow to Trump’s efforts to cancel the 2020 election.
In Texas, Mr. Paxton, a regular on Fox News, enjoys Mr. Trump’s backing but remains vulnerable due to his legal woes: in addition to allegations of corruption by his aides, the Texas Attorney General has been indicted for securities fraud since 2015 .
His rivals represent various Republican centers of power fighting for the future of the party.
There is George P. Bush, Jeb Bush’s son and statewide official who has positioned himself as the most elected conservative in the race, and Eva Guzman, a former state Supreme Court Justice who has the backing of some traditional business interests. are influential players in Republican politics.