OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
He may be relaxing at Mar-a-lago but former President Donald Trump is still hard at work, scoring victories for Republicans.
This week the 45th President of the United States showed how far his pull is with the Republican voters as every candidate he endorsed either won their race or is in first place for a run-off.
It was a victory for the former president that was noted by Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick.
“I am proud to tell you that every candidate I asked you to endorse won or is solidly in first place going into a runoff. You were 12-0 with your Texas endorsements last night from my list of recommendations,” he said.
“Your key endorsement of strong conservative candidates, who believe in the MAGA policies, who worked hard every day for months was a winning combination over their opponents,” the lieutenant governor said.
He said that he got “more votes than any person on the ballot,” with around 1.4 million votes, which is around 300,000 more votes than he got in the 2018 primaries.
“Your endorsement, along with the most conservative session in history last year, helped me receive more votes than any person on the ballot. I ended with over 1.4 million votes. That is 300,00 votes higher than my 2018 primary and it appears to be an all time record for any candidate ever in a Texas contested primary. I used your endorsement in all of our ads, mailers & was pinned to the top of my Facebook page for months. He also talked about Ryan Guillen, a former Democrat from a border region who became a Republican,” he said.
He also talked about Ryan Guillen, a former Democrat from a border region who became a Republican.
“Ryan Guillen won last night with 54% of the vote in a 3 way race. He is the bold Democrat that changed parties in the border region. That is something you should be very proud of. That was an historic win that will open the door for more conservative Hispanic Democrats to switch parties,” he said.
And the Trump-endorsed Ken Paxton was in first place and will take on Texas land commissioner George P. Bush in a run-off in May.
Texas Election Update from @DanPatrick: pic.twitter.com/ZB6g0ltbvB
— Natalie Harp (@NatalieJHarp) March 3, 2022
Other victories he noted:
Kevin Sparks, the oilman in West Texas, won in a 4 way race with nearly 54% of the vote.
Mayes Middleton won in a 4 way race with 56% of the vote.
Governor Abbott won with 66% in an 8 way race.
I won with 76% of the vote in a 6 way race and as noted had highest vote total of any candidate.
Glen Hegar won easily in a 2 way race.
Angela Paxton won 65% in a 2 way race.
And as noted myself, Tim O’Hare and Ryan Guillen all won in multi-candidate races.
Run-Offs Scheduled for May 24th:
1. Ken Paxton 42% , George P. Bush 22%
2. Senator Pete Flores 46% in a 3 way race. He is the 1st Hispanic Republican to be elected to the Texas Senate in history.
3. Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham 42% in an 8 way race. Her second place opponent is at 17%.
4. Tarrant DA Philip Sorrells 41% finished first in a 3 way race.
5. House candidate Frederick Frazier finished first with 44% in a 3 way race.
“What’s also important to remember is that with a few exceptions when you endorsed early on, there were no guarantees. These were hard fought races,” the lieutenant governor said.
“I recommended them because I believed in them and I knew your endorsement along with their work ethic and conservative records would get them into the winners circle. They all thank you for your strong total and complete endorsement as I do.
“I know you also had other big wins in Texas last night as well. No President’s endorsement in history has ever been as powerful as yours,” he said.
