In his teens and his 20s, Stickland was a prolific internet troll. But instead of growing out of it, he would make a career of it ascending to the role of a conservative Texas powerbroker, before taking heat for hosting a meeting with white supremacist Nick Fuentes.
The savvy ex-lawmaker has expanded the Texas A&M University System and mollified state leaders. Some faculty, alumni and students say that accommodation has come at a cost.
A federal judiciary full of ideological allies is helping Texas block Democratic priorities and advance right-wing legal doctrines. But the bigger prize is conservative control of the rule of law itself.