Texas House speakers generally stay out of general election races that involve the other party’s incumbents. Democratic speakers don’t go directly at Republicans; Republican speakers don’t go directly at Democratic members. They have to get elected by members, after all, and it doesn’t help if you intentionally and openly split the House during the elections. The knives are out, sometimes, but they’re concealed.
That’s not how the Senate operates, apparently. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is touting Republican challenger Mark Shelton, a state Rep. from Fort Worth, over Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, in the November election. He visited the district on Shelton’s behalf and tweeted this: “Dr. Mark Shelton is going to be one of the conservatives we need in the Texas Senate!”