Stop buying the hype. Stop drinking the Kool-Aid. Stop paying attention to the fake news from liberal media sources. Texas is Red, Red, Red! And that likely won’t change in 2018. It’s not going blue. It’s not going purple. It’s red.
Yep, Pardner, Democrats increased their participation in yesterday’s primaries by roughly 105%, while Republican participation increased only 15%. That’s true, but oh so misleading.
Oh ye who dream in shades of blue, are you aware that Beto O’Rourke, who you would believe might defeat Ted Cruz for the U. S. Senate, underperformed, despite spending millions to outdo lesser candidates of little to no resources. Let’s not get too technical. Look at a map of Texas. El Paso is a great place. Believe me. I’ve been there, even made a presentation at the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP) once. At the end of the day, it’s a liberal enclave of a border town in the far – really far – reaches of West Texas (552 miles WNW of San Antonio and 636 miles W of Dallas). It doesn’t resonate with the rest of Texas, and neither, apparently, does its local congressman who failed to impress in the larger population centers of the state and faired poorly in the countryside, of which Texas has vast expanses.
O’Rourke’s underperformance doesn’t fully explain the extent of the problem. The false hype of a 105% increase in Democratic early voting is a diversionary focal point pushed by the drinkers of blue Kool-Aid. Here’s the number that matters. In yesterday’s first round of primaries (there may be run-offs) approximately 2.5 million Texans voted. Of the 2.5 million who voted,, approximately 1 million were Democrats, even with that vaunted 105% increase. The other 1.5 million were Republicans.
The valid focal point is that 60% of the vote in the Texas first round primaries was Republican and only 40% was Democratic. Still think Beto O’Rourke is going to knock off Ted Cruz? I don’t. And neither does the Dallas Morning News. https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2018/03/07/beto-orourkes-primary-win-doesnt-bode-unseating-ted-cruz .
Here’s the real hope. Maybe a couple of congressional districts might turn blue. And since more Democrats vote in the general than the primaries, the margins might get a tad closer than in the past. But, Texas turning blue? Nah.
Here’s another source worth perusing: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/texas-elections-2018/2018/03/07/271928/blue-wave-texas-republicans-outvoted-democrats-in-the-2018-primaries-again/ .
Contributor, aka tidbits. Retired attorney in complex litigation, death penalty defense and constitutional law. Former Nat’l Board Chair: Alzheimer’s Association. Served on multiple political campaigns, including two for U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield (R-OR). Contributing author to three legal books and multiple legal publications.