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Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick recently made headlines after he warned Texas Republicans that they might have a tough time maintaining control of the Texas House this November. Republicans have held the House since 2003.
On top of their iron grip on the House, they’ve managed to keep Democrats out of every statewide office since 1994. With that in mind, it’s not surprising that Lt. Governor Patrick’s comments at the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s annual conference in Austin caused a bit of panic among Texas Republicans.
Former Texas GOP Chairman Matt Rinaldi says the truth is, Patrick has made comments like this before, and they speak more to his campaign strategy than the actual situation on the ground. “This is going to be a tough election, as every midterm election is for the party in power,” Rinaldi said. “So we have to get out there, we have to work, and we have to win this election.”
He says that when put into context, Patrick’s comments were just meant to convey the importance of Republicans campaigning like they’re behind in order to ensure victory. Rinaldi believes that victory is coming. “We’re 189 and 0 in statewide elections since 1994,” he said. “Republicans are stronger in Texas than in any state in the country.”
Rinaldi believes the real key is going to be ensuring that the party reunifies after the contentious top-of-the-ticket Senate primary between Senator John Cornyn and Ken Paxton. Again, Rinaldi signaled confidence that that would happen, saying: “I think there’s zero chance that the Republican Party doesn’t go into this election unified—especially with a Democrat candidate that’s so flawed.”
He says Republican primaries in Texas do tend to be hotly contested, pointing to the 2016 presidential primary as an example, but says Republicans always reunify come November.