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<\/p>\nAUSTIN, Texas (AP) \u2014 George P. Bush on Wednesday launched his next political move: a run for Texas attorney general in 2022 that puts the scion of a Republican dynasty against a GOP incumbent shadowed by securities fraud charges and an FBI investigation.<\/p>\n
Bush, who has served as Texas\u2019 land commissioner since 2015, is the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the nephew and grandson of two former presidents. He is the last of the Bush family still in public office \u2014 and\u00a0was the first to break with them\u00a0over supporting former President Donald Trump, who has mocked the family that was once the face of the Republican Party.<\/p>\n
He is now launching the first major challenge against embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has spent six years in office under felony indictment over accusations of defrauding investors, and more recently was\u00a0accused of bribery by his own former top aides.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere in Texas, we have a scandal that is plaguing one of our highest offices. And I believe conservatives should have a choice,\u201d Bush said at a campaign kickoff rally in Austin.<\/p>\n
Bush, 45, said he spoke with Texas\u2019 two previous attorneys general prior to Paxton \u2014 Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn \u2014 after the latest accusations surfaced but would not go into details. \u201cThere\u2019s concern there, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m willing to go out there and offer myself because everybody else has been quiet and afraid to tell the truth about this guy,\u201d Bush said.<\/p>\n
Paxton\u2019s campaign responded with a statement that made no mention of the accusations against him.<\/p>\n
\u201cTexans know Attorney General Paxton\u2019s rock-solid conservative record,\u201d Paxton spokesman Ian Prior said.<\/p>\n
Bush\u2019s bid to move up Texas\u2019 political ladder sets up a potentially bruising primary that will test GOP voters\u2019 appetite for the Bush name, and the durability of a two-term attorney general who is embroiled in legal trouble, but was embraced by conservatives last November after bringing a failed lawsuit to the Supreme Court that sought to overturn President Joe Biden\u2019s victory.<\/p>\n
Asked if he supported Paxton\u2019s efforts to overturn Biden\u2019s win, Bush faulted Paxton\u2019s legal strategy and claimed there were irregularities, but acknowledged Biden\u2019s victory.\u00a0No widespread corruption was found, and Trump\u2019s allegations of massive voting fraud also have been dismissed by a succession of judges and refuted by state election officials.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Trump endorsed Abbott for a third term but has not weighed in on Texas\u2019 attorney general race, which Bush had signaled for months he would enter.<\/p>\n
Hours ahead of Bush\u2019s announcement, Paxton\u2019s office publicized a court brief that denies claims of impropriety leveled by top-level deputies\u00a0who were fired\u00a0after taking part in an extraordinary revolt against Paxton last fall. Eight staffers accused Paxton of abusing his office in the service of a wealthy donor, which is now the target of an FBI investigation.<\/p>\n
Paxton called the accusations an \u201cunsubstantiated smear campaign\u201d and has separately pleaded not guilty in his securities fraud case that has languished since 2015. He has also used his office in ways\u00a0that have benefited allies\u00a0and\u00a0other donors.<\/p>\n
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President Donald Trump with Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush at April 2019 event in Crosby, Texas. Trump introduced the land commissioner as "the only Bush that likes me." JUAN DeLEON\/ Associated Press (Photo: Juan DeLeon\/AP)<\/span><\/p>\n Bush, meanwhile, enters the race at a moment of intense scrutiny and bipartisan outrage in Houston over his General Land Office\u00a0announcing the city wouldn\u2019t get a cent of the initial $1 billion in federal funding\u00a0that was promised to Texas following Hurricane Harvey. He has also angered conservative activists over a renovation plan for the Alamo, the revered Texas shrine.<\/p>\n The race is pivotal for Bush\u2019s political future in Texas, where he has aligned himself with Trump, unlike his famous relatives. Bush has carefully sidestepped Trump\u2019s antagonism toward his family, which included taunting his father as \u201clow energy\u201d during the 2016 presidential campaign. His late grandfather, George H.W. Bush, had said he voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, while George W. Bush said he voted for \u201cnone of the above.\u201d<\/p>\n During a visit to Texas in 2019, Trump called George P. Bush \u201cthe only Bush that likes me.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Associated Press writer Jake Bleiberg in Dallas contributed to this report.<\/p>\n