Reps. Tom Oliverson and Shelby Slawson, both members of House Republican leadership, became the first two candidates to challenge Phelan’s speakership.

A federal district court judge on Aug. 30 temporarily blocked part of a new social media law designed to prevent Texas children from accessing certain content online through platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.

The announcement came two days after Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, narrowly survived a runoff challenge from the GOP’s hard right.

The House gave initial approval to the bill Tuesday. The legislation is a priority for Speaker Dade Phelan.

The leader of the state House also threw his support behind bills to crack down on how companies handle private data and to protect children from “addictive algorithms” by digital companies.

The signing of the bill opens a new frontier in the battle over abortion restrictions as first-of-its-kind legal provisions intended to make the law harder to challenge are poised to be tested in the courts.

The GOP-dominated Texas state House grave preliminary approval to a measure that would ban abortions after as early six weeks — which is before many women know they are pregnant — and allow private citizens to enforce the rule through civil lawsuits.

The anti-abortion group has endorsed Flynn challenger Bryan Slaton, Sheffield rival Shelby Slawson and Francis. He is the only candidate across the three runoffs that the group has formally endorsed, and he is the son-in-law of Farris Wilks, one of Empower Texans top allied donors. And the governors campaign has since put significant money behind the endorsement, making $83,000 in in-kind contributions to Rogers campaign, including for a TV ad buy featuring Abbott pitching Rogers direct-to-camera. Flynn, Slaton has argued on the campaign trail, is a do-nothing Republican who has not represented the district while in office. Slatons taken over a $150,000 from West Texas oil billionaires the same West Texas billionaires funding vile attacks on Gov.