Texas Primaries May Predict November Outcomes
The votes of far-right Republican voters and the prayers of Democrats elevated former Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to the top of the ticket for the state’s November elections.
Paxton’s Democratic opponent in November posted, “I’m now officially running against Ken Paxton. If we fail to take back Texas, we could hand this seat to the most corrupt politician in America.” – Candidate James Talarico
Trump and Democrats Celebrate the Texas Primary Results
Paxton may be one of the best-known for nastiness politicians from anywhere. His headlines include charges of corruption, infidelity, investigations, impeachment, and homophobia. A recent People’s World article charges him with forcing a Texas hospital to give up gender affirmation and change to behavior modification!
In case anyone doubts the death wish of Texas Republican voters, the race for Railroad Commissioner is clear proof. The Railroad Commission oversees oil and gas and is one of the critical elected offices in the state. The winner was Bo French, who had backing from the West Texas oil billionaires who have sponsored right-wing turnarounds in many and varied state elections, including school boards. Backing French’s opponents were the mightiest of right-wing state politicians, including the Governor and Lieutenant Governor. French’s campaign, based almost completely on racism and islamophobia rather than the oil industry, was too disgusting even for the more traditional hate mongerers.
The race for Attorney General in the Republican primary was all hate and mudslinging. The winner overcame the backing for his opponent from no less a well-known far-right hatesman than Senator Ted Cruz!
The shift among Texas Republicans is clearly toward autocracy without any regard to winning in November.
Texas Matters
The Texas primary elections are important because of the size of the state and the earliness of the returns. There are clear trends that can be used to predict outcomes in November.
Republican winner Ken Paxton put it well in his victory speech, “If Republicans lose this state, we lose the country.” — Dallas Morning News
In both the Democratic and Republican primaries that were settled in the runoffs on May 26, some of the biggest issues were hardly mentioned. The effect of artificial intelligence on jobs didn’t find a champion. The ongoing war in Iran and the coming threat to Cuba were not issues. Democrats and Republicans showed little interest in China, Israel, nor the exploding military budget.
Big $Money$ Matters
“The matchup became the most expensive Senate primary in U.S. history, topping $130 million in spending by all candidates and their allies.” –Dallas Morning News
The downright silly mud-slinging contest for Republican nomination for Attorney General drew over $14 million, according to news accounts made before the final tallies.
Despite all the Texas craziness, there were some issues that stood out.
Labor Celebrates, and Deserves to Celebrate
In Congressional District 33 around Dallas, labor endorsed Democrat Colin Allred based a great deal of his campaign on corruption among public officials. He especially charged his opponent with profiting from stock trading while holding public office and trust. He won handily and, because of Republican redistricting, expects little resistance in November.
Labor celebrated its victories in the critical Attorney General’s race and in several state legislature races. Our endorsed candidate for Lieutenant Governor lost, but he lost to another highly respected union member. The Texas AFL-CIO is revitalizing the entire state with political training and backup in local areas.
–GeneLantz@gmail.com
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