'Embarrassed' Republican says party in big trouble in red-state stronghold

The Republican Party seems poised for disaster in one of its most reliable red-state strongholds, as one former GOP strategist admitted this week that he is "embarrassed" for the party, and worried they might lose big there for the first time in decades amid President Donald Trump's meddling and plummeting popularity.

In addition to his background as a Republican strategist, Joseph Moreno also previously served as a national security prosecutor for the Justice Department and a staffer for the FBI's 9/11 Review Commission. He now makes frequent appearances on major news networks to provide political analysis.

This week, Moreno made an appearance on CNN's The Lead, where he admitted to host Jake Tapper that "this might be the year" when Democrats notch a major statewide win in Texas, which has long been one of the GOP's most reliable red-state strongholds.

“It surprises me, and it worries me a little bit, Jake. Normally, I would say, ‘I’m not worried about this,’ right? It’s been 30 years since a Democrat won statewide office in Texas," Moreno said,

This came in response to a conversation about more polling that recently dropped concerning the Texas Senate race, once again showing Democratic nominee James Talarico with a narrow lead, 47 percent to 45 percent, over his Republican opposition, the state's contentious Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Paxton defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn for the party's nomination after Trump defied the pleas of his allies and endorsed the embattled state AG. Republican officials had long advised Trump that Cornyn — a more traditional Republican whom he had butted heads with in the past — was more likely to be able to beat the increasingly popular Talarico than Paxton — a more extreme, MAGA-aligned Republican whose time in office has been mired by controversy.

Paxton was impeached by the Texas State House after an investigation found that he had "used, misused or failed to use his official powers in a manner calculated to subvert the lawful operation of the government." He has also faced charges of misconduct in office and securities fraud in the past, and cheated on his wife, leading her to seek a divorce on "biblical" grounds.

Moreno specifically singled out Paxton's poor reputation as a major factor for his prediction, admitting that the Texas nominee made him feel "embarrassed."

“The problem is, here’s what happens — in 2024, the Republican was up by 2 percent, wins by 8 percent. In 2020, Cornyn was up 10 percent, wins by 10 percent,” Moreno added. “Now, you’ve got Talarico even, or maybe even ahead of Paxton. Paxton is so flawed. I’m embarrassed as a Republican... I hate to say it, this might be the year for Democrats in Texas.”