Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, warned Sunday on Newsmax that a bitter U.S. Senate primary between Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and state Attorney General Ken Paxton could jeopardize Republican majorities in the Texas Legislature if the loser's voters stay home in November.
Appearing on "Wake Up America Weekend," Patrick compared the current GOP rift to the internal feuding he said drove Texas Democrats from power in the 1990s.
His comments came as the Cornyn-Paxton race heads to a May 26 runoff after neither candidate cleared 50% in the March 3 primary, with Cornyn finishing at about 43% and Paxton at 41%.
A Slingshot Strategies poll released April 17 showed Paxton leading Cornyn 48% to 40% among likely runoff voters.
Patrick said that in a recent keynote at the Texas Public Policy Foundation's annual policy summit in Austin, he told a crowd of 500 Republicans, and both senators directly, that whichever candidate loses the runoff must endorse the winner and rally his supporters behind the nominee.
"When it's over, whoever loses has to support the winner and encourage their voters to support the winner," Patrick said.
He warned that a 15% defection rate on either side could tip the general election in favor of Democratic nominee and state Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin.
The lieutenant governor, who is on the ballot this year, said the ripple effect could reach statewide offices and the Legislature, where he said Republicans have held majorities since 2003.
Texas remains a roughly 10-point Republican state, Patrick said, but a depressed GOP turnout at the top of the ticket could compress that margin.
"A Republican on their worst day is better than a Democrat on their best day," Patrick said.
Patrick was sharply critical of Talarico, calling him "a false prophet" who presents himself as "a moderate pastor" but, in his telling, is neither.
Talarico, who advanced from the Democratic primary, has drawn some crossover interest in polling; the Slingshot survey found that 24% of Cornyn voters said they would consider backing Talarico if Paxton is the nominee.
Turning to the state's mid-decade redistricting, Patrick defended the new congressional map as proportionate to Texas's partisan makeup, saying 235 of the state's 254 counties are rural and that the remaining 19, which he described as Democratic, anchor the state's blue vote.
He argued that Democratic-led states have drawn more lopsided maps, citing Illinois' 14-3 Democratic delegation and a pending Virginia proposal to move from a 6-5 to a 10-1 split.
"The people deserve to be represented," Patrick said, accusing Democrats of hypocrisy for objecting to Texas's redraw while pursuing steeper advantages elsewhere.
"Imagine you live in one of these blue states and 40% of the voters or more vote Republican, and there are only 10% or less of your congressmen — that's not representation," he said.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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