A rosé state’s political disposition is recognizably Republican, but that disposition is conditional on a normie GOP.
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When Ted Cruz was up for reelection in Texas in 2024 (and Trump hadn’t yet been swept back into power), I had a conversation with a political operative who had just gotten back from running a mock debate with him. We talked about Cruz and and what kind of Republican each was, and how they would fare in a world where Trump completed his comeback.
I spitballed an idea that had been kicking around in my head for a time: that Texas wasn’t as red as everybody thought, or at least not as uniformly MAGA; that it was still much closer to the state George W. Bush took over from outgoing Governor Ann Richards in 1995; and that election results had largely masked an underlying political disposition that was a quite light shade of red. Given that reality, I said, Cornyn was a better indication of where Texas voters were than Cruz.
About the Author
Daniel Foster is a contributing editor at National Review.
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When Ted Cruz was up for reelection in Texas in 2024 (and Trump hadn’t yet been swept back into power), I had a conversation with a political operative who had just gotten back from running a mock debate with him. We talked about Cruz and and what kind of Republican each was, and how they would fare in a world where Trump completed his comeback.
I spitballed an idea that had been kicking around in my head for a time: that Texas wasn’t as red as everybody thought, or at least not as uniformly MAGA; that it was still much closer to the state George W. Bush took over from outgoing Governor Ann Richards in 1995; and that election results had largely masked an underlying political disposition that was a quite light shade of red. Given that reality, I said, Cornyn was a better indication of where Texas voters were than Cruz.
About the Author
Daniel Foster is a contributing editor at National Review.
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