On the eve of the Texas primary, I'm counting five of the Republican members of the state's congressional delegation who are running for reelection and who Trump never endorsed:
- Crenshaw
- Taylor
- Sessions
- Roy
- Gonzales
One commonality here is that 4 of them — Crenshaw, Taylor, Roy & Gonzales — each voted to certify the Ariz. & Penn. results in January 2021.
But it's not clear-cut. McCaul voted to certify both, & Trump still endorsed him. Van Duyne voted to certify AZ, & Trump still endorsed.
Crenshaw, Gonzales, Roy and Sessions are all expected to win outright tomorrow. Taylor is the one who could’ve used Trump’s endorsement — he’s got four challengers hitting him as insufficiently pro-Trump.
BREAKING: Van Taylor is suspending his reelection campaign after he was forced into a primary runoff last night. He faced last-minute allegations of infidelity.
Taylor emails supporters: "About a year ago, I made a horrible mistake that has caused deep hurt and pain among those I love most in this world. I had an affair, it was wrong, and it was the greatest failure of my life."
Taylor, cont'd.: "I want to apologize for the pain I have caused with my indiscretion, most of all to my wife Anne and our three daughters."
Abbott strategist @granitewinger debriefs with reporters, predicting "known-down, drag-out fight" against @BetoORourke. He says Abbott will spend more than $100M.
"We're gonna take the wood to this guy," Carney says. "We're not gonna take him off the mat." #TXGOV
Will Abbott shift to the middle for the general election? "Greg Abbott's never shifted on an issue for elections, ever," Carney says.
How much influence does @DonHuffines have over Abbott going forward? "Who?" Carney asks.
More seriously, Carney says he hopes Huffines stays engaged "and spends some of his money to help candidates win in the general election."
Paxton is the most at risk of a runoff, but other GOP statewide officials, like Abbott and Miller, face meaningful opposition that they'd like to knock out in Round 1. Plus, the Phelan machine faces its first primaries: texastribune.org/2022/03/01/tex…#txlege
New — Inside @DanPatrick's push for more power this cycle, w/ Trump's ear. The lieutenant governor...
- encouraged Rick Perry to run for gov last yr.
- has raised alarms that he's meddling in Paxton/Miller primaries
- was behind Trump's anti-Phelan crusade texastribune.org/2022/02/18/dan…
Patrick claims he only approached Perry about running if Abbott didn't run. But there was never any sign of Abbott not running, and Abbott told me:
"I was always clear. One hundred percent, I'm running."
In statement lauding @RepEBJ, #TX30 Dem candidate @abelfortexas says he "hope[s] to represent the constituents of CD-30 with her same dedication and progressive vision to better our community and improve outcomes for all families." He launched his campaign late last month.
.@SenRoyceWest, meanwhile, confirms he's not running for #TX30 now that it's open and will seek reelection to his state Senate seat #txlege
One potential candidate is @jasminefor100. She released this statement praising @RepEBJ’s tenure and tells me she’ll “evaluate things over the weekend” #TX30#txlege