Could Trump drag the Republican Party down to such an extent that Is Texas at stake?
This is the question that both Democrats and Republicans are asking as the Republican runoff for the US Senate nomination drags on and the president continues to support neither Senator John Cornyn nor Attorney General Ken Paxton.
PoliticusUSA is nonpartisan and not beholden to any political party or special interest. Support us by becoming a subscriber.
Semafor reported that Trump’s delays are costing the Republican Party tens of millions of dollars:
“We could have tens of millions of dollars spent in a Texas runoff and then have the added risk that whatever is said will fuel the Democratic marketing department,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told Semafor. “The primaries are getting ugly. The runoffs are getting uglier.” He and other Republicans have warned that a Paxton victory would require so much money for the general election that it could deprive candidates of other battlegrounds this fall.
The stakes are high for Republicans as they still spend money on a runoff, where the winner, if it is Paxton, could need an additional $100 million to $200 million to remain competitive in the general election.
As for what the general election might look like, we get our first early takeaways from a new PPP poll.
The main takeaway from the poll is that it doesn’t matter who wins the Republican runoff election. The election will be close and give Democrats their best chance to win a Texas Senate seat since Beto O’Rourke challenged Sen. Ted Cruz.
Keep reading to find out the number that should worry Republicans the most.