Texas 'Republicans are sweating through their solid gold Trump pins' — here's why
Barbed Wire Editor Brian Gaar says this year’s race for Republican senator in Texas “has everything,” including a “four-term U.S. senator trying to fend off a scandal-slicked attorney general” and “Big-money super PACs unloading cash like it’s an oil boom.”
They’re dumping considerable cash on incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, who’s raised nearly $4 million this quarter and has $8.5 million in cash on hand. Cornyn also has a super PAC with an additional $11 million haul “and a consultant team stacked with senior Trump advisers.”
But “the kicker,” says Gaar, is that despite all that cash, the incumbent is still trailing his controversial opponent Texas AG Ken Paxton by 15 points in the Texas primary.
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“That’s not a polling gap,” says Gaar. “That’s a canyon.”
Another plot twist that Gaar says is probably making Cornyn’s campaign staff “spit … coffee,” is the fact that those same polls showing Paxton with a lead in the primary also show he’s losing to a generic Democrat in the general election.”
“Meanwhile, Cornyn — establishment, suit-and-tie Cornyn — actually beats the Democrat by seven points,” Gaar said. “This has Republicans sweating through their solid gold Trump pins.”
“The problem is nobody with the necessary gravitas seems to be willing to state the obvious: this is shaping up to be a f—————— disaster,” one anonymous aide told Axios.
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Gaar points out that Paxton is the same embattled Texas AG who was recently impeached by the Texas House on bribery and corruption charges and then acquitted by the GOP-dominated Texas Senate.
“And speaking of family values: Angela Paxton, Ken’s wife of 38 years and a state senator, just filed for divorce on “biblical grounds,” Gaar adds. “If you’re wondering what chapter and verse that comes from, it appears to be somewhere between ‘Thou shalt not embarrass me on national television’ and ‘Thou shalt not have a mistress during impeachment hearings.’”
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, is still holding off an endorsement in the primary.
Gaar notes Cornyn told NBC News: “I’ve talked to him about it a number of times. He is not ready to make that endorsement,” which to Gaar looks like “your state’s senior senator refreshing Trump’s texts like a teenager.”
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“So here we are,” writes Gaar. “A race that should’ve been a Republican layup has turned into a slow-motion implosion. Cornyn’s money might not matter if the base stays glued to Paxton, and Paxton might win a primary only to crash and burn in the general.”
Read the full Barbed Wire report at this link.
