Candidates backed by the most conservative wing of the Texas Republican Party were the big winners in March's state primaries. Support from U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and local Tea Party groups have gotten much of the credit for those wins. But support from a conservative policy group called Empower Texans also helped carry the day.
The group's leader, Michael Quinn Sullivan, has taken some heat for what's been called his efforts to purify the GOP, working to get rid of Republicans he says aren’t sufficiently conservative.
Sullivan stopped by KUT to speak with Ben Philpott about what would be different in a Legislature run by his kind of Republicans.
"Generally the difference can be thought of a couple of ways," Sullivan says. "Number one, is this someone who is doing what they say? Is this someone who when they campaign, does that match with how they govern? Number two are these candidates who are going to pushing for the reforms they espouse. It's one thing to hold a view, but are they actually pushing the ball forward."
Listen to the interview in the audio player above.
