Austin — Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said last week that Republicans could hand a U.S. Senate seat to Democrat James Talarico if they do not unite behind their nominee after the May 26 runoff between John Cornyn and Ken Paxton.
Patrick, speaking before the Texas Public Policy Foundation in Austin, said the race troubles him because “we have one nasty race” and the party is tearing itself apart. He urged Cornyn and Paxton to back the eventual winner and keep their voters in line, warning that if 10 to 15 percent of either side stays home, “James Talarico is going to win.”
The Republican primary runoff on May 26 will decide who carries the GOP banner into November, when Republicans are still favored to hold the seat according to the Cook Political Report. But Patrick said Democrats have already rallied around Talarico, making Republican turnout the deciding factor if the party cannot close ranks after the runoff.
Patrick said Cornyn should endorse Paxton and push his voters to support him if he loses, and that Paxton should do the same for Cornyn if he falls short. “Get over it and come together as one,” he said, arguing that a fractured Republican base would create the opening Democrats need.
He pointed to the late January runoff for an open state Senate seat in Fort Worth, where Democrat Taylor Rehmet defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss in a GOP-majority district. Patrick said 74,000 Republicans did not vote for Wambsganss and she lost by 14,000 because they stayed home. He predicted Wambsganss would beat Rehmet in November for the same seat, underscoring his point that intraparty bitterness can be costly even in districts that normally lean Republican.
Patrick said the stakes could reach beyond the Senate race. If James Talarico wins, he said, the Texas House could be difficult to hold. House Speaker Dustin Burrows pushed back the next day, saying, “We’re not going to lose the Texas House.” Patrick, for his part, said he thinks the Senate is in good shape, but only if Republicans help their nominees instead of punishing them after a primary loss.
The warning reflects a simple calculation: Republicans may still be favored in November, but Patrick believes that advantage disappears quickly if enough voters decide to sit out the race out of anger. In his view, the party’s biggest threat is not Talarico alone, but a GOP fight that carries over into the fall.
