Ken Paxton Vs. James Talarico

Plus: The Left's perpetual adolescence, Hasan Piker under federal investigation, and Michael Shellenberger on UFO conspiracies.

Last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Trump-endorsed and MAGA-aligned candidate, defeated moderate incumbent John Cornyn in the Texas Republican U.S. Senate primary. Now, we’re preparing for the final round in November: Paxton against James Talarico, a progressive state representative who has become a left-wing icon.

In last week’s newsletter, I discussed how recent primaries are solidifying the thesis that Trump remains the big dog in Republican politics. He can singlehandedly knock out entrenched GOP incumbents. The president and his MAGA movement, contrary to the wishcasting of many pundits, retains their consolidated grip on the Republican Party.

What makes the president’s continued political dominance interesting is that, for any other presidency, this is very late in the game to still be exerting this type of control. We’re already halfway through Trump’s second term; George W. Bush and Barack Obama did not have this sort of sway in their second-term midterms. But I think Trump’s residual influence is a healthy development, because the reality is in safe Republican states—from Texas to Utah—the local political establishments produce these awful moderate Republicans that are weak on the Right’s core issues and don’t get anything important done.