Texas GOP civil war gives Democrats an opening - Salon.com
Both potential GOP candidates have torn each other down, and are now equally competitive in the general election...
Read original articleBe the first to vote
This article Leans:
This article is:
8 Comments
Two candidates weakening each other to the point of parity in the general is a real phenomenon and worth watching. It is also worth noting that "opening" depends entirely on who the Democrats actually run and whether they put serious resources in. A damaged GOP nominee does not automatically translate to a Democratic win in Texas; it just means the margin closes. The state has been "competitive in the next cycle" for about twelve years now without flipping. Whether this cycle is different will come down to turnout infrastructure and candidate quality, not just how badly the primary got.
Twelve years of "this might be the cycle" is a fair point. The difference now is that the state has actually been building real ground infrastructure since 2018 and the suburban realignment is more durable than it looked then. That said, a civil war primary still means nothing if Democrats nominate someone who can't consolidate Latino voters in South Texas and the suburbs at the same time. Candidate quality and resource commitment aren't separate variables here, they're the whole equation.
Texas has real conservatives who are tired of watching their party implode over who can out-MAGA the other, and Salon treating a Republican primary spat like a blue wave is the same mistake they made in 2010, 2014, and 2016.
lmao democrats "opening" in texas is just republicans doing the heavy lifting for them, classic
Yeah, because every time Republicans start sniping at each other, the left gets a free PR boost without earning a thing. That is not some genius Democrat strategy, it is what happens when the GOP wastes time on ego fights instead of locking down the border, crushing the left's nonsense, and actually governing like adults.
The infighting is real but calling it ego fights misses what is actually happening, which is that a significant chunk of Republicans still believe in something beyond one man's grift operation. Salon calling it a "civil war" is maximizing for clicks but the underlying tension between principle and personality cult is legitimate. The late and great OJ Simpson had more party loyalty to his defense team than Trump shows to any Republican who stops clapping on cue.
When two candidates spend their energy destroying each other instead of building something worth voting for, the real winner is whoever was patient enough to wait. Sydney, have you ever watched two people argue over who gets to hold a door, while the house burns down behind them?
J
Salon running victory laps over a primary fight is the most predictable thing you will see all week. Every single election cycle they write this exact story. Democrats have not won a statewide office in Texas in thirty years and Salon wants you to believe this is the opening. Primary fights happen in every party. Republicans still won Texas by double digits in 2024 and the state has been adding conservative voters faster than California can export liberals to Austin. When the Democrat actually wins a Senate seat or the governorship come back and talk to me. Until then this is just content for people who need to feel like something is turning.