Marshall Court tradition
federal institutionalism, 1801–1835

Marshall's framework prizes a strong federal judiciary, federal preemption where it applies, and judicial review enforced consistently against legislative excess. The August 2025 episode — Abbott asking the Texas Supreme Court (his appointees) to vacate Democratic House seats via quo warranto, the court refusing — is itself a working modern example of judicial review checking executive overreach, and Abbott deserves marginal credit for accepting the court's refusal without further escalation. But his Tenth Amendment-style preemption fights against federal Medicaid, ACA, and post-partum coverage cut against Marshall's federalist strand. Hinojosa's institutional-process insistence and her amendment placing SB 10 litigation cost on the AG (forcing the judicial-review question forward) are smaller Marshall-style moves. Both candidates are mixed; Abbott has thin federalism-against-Washington credit while running hard against the federal-preemption strand.