Donald Trump could decide who gets the GOP nomination for attorney general of Texas and, in the process, could be a factor in runoffs farther down that party’s ballot in May.
The former president’s endorsement of Ken Paxton, the besieged incumbent AG, was central to Paxton’s first-place finish in the first round of the primaries. It wasn’t enough — Paxton is on his way to a runoff with Land Commissioner George P. Bush — but it kept him alive.
If that race draws a crowd — it will be at the top of the GOP’s runoff ticket — the voters Paxton and Bush lure to the polls will be voting in down-ballot races. And because runoffs typically have even lower turnout than primaries, small changes in who votes could have an outsize effect. A wave of Trump Republicans could be a boon to conservatives in other runoff races, and a bad omen for candidates who aren’t in the former president’s fold.
