You cannot deny the influence Trump has given to the candidates he endorsed. Of the 118 primaries in which he endorsed a candidate, all those running for office won. Last week, GMC argued that Trump is the leader of the Republican Party, but more importantly, has successfully created another political entity called MAGA. Further, it was argued that voters have a legitimate option of a Republican candidate, one that is establishment, and the other a full-throated MAGA candidate: two distinct ideologies, the status quo of the establishment or the Trump agenda.
The opinion was met with disagreement from those who cannot envision another political party within a party and hold that Trump is the undisputed head of the Republicans only. The problem with this analysis is that those candidates who had been in office for years, were part of the Republican establishment, and did not receive Trump’s endorsement. They lost their elections without Trump’s backing.
Further hammering the point, the recent runoff election in Texas between Ken Paxton and John Cornyn is emblematic of the thesis. Cornyn was elected to the Senate in 2002, meaning he has spent 23 years in Washington. Nothing speaks more of an establishment politician than one who has spent over two decades in the nation’s capital.
Cornyn was so well known and amassed a high degree of political clout that he felt he could get reelected by defying Trump on the Save Act and still receive his backing. A strategy that backfired when, at the last minute, Trump went with Paxton, contending he would fight for the MAGA agenda better than the incumbent, Cornyn.
An incumbent senator has many advantages over a challenger, namely money and clout. The Texas primary was the most expensive in history, approximately 122.6 million was spent. The lion’s share was in Cornyn’s camp. It is reported that Cornyn’s financial base included the national Republican establishment business community. They included energy executives, financial sector companies, and other donors who backed him in his four Senate runs. He sits on powerful committees having great influence in energy, banking, and other related business interests. No wonder so many want the status quo to continue and are willing to pay for it.
The voters in Texas sent the Republican establishment a strong message by selecting Paxton in a landslide. Cornyn surpassed Paxton in advertising by 17-1, and even with that advantage, the race wasn’t even close. Systematically, Republican establishment candidates are being eliminated at the ballot box, primarily because of Donald Trump’s endorsement.
The Trump endorsement is a repudiation of the establishment and the lifelong agreement to hold an office as long as a politician answers to the Republican establishment is coming to an end. It was believed that power and money could secure the election, but this cycle is shattering the notion. Because MAGA exists, the Republican Party is moving closer to what the founding fathers wanted for a self-governing nation by limiting politicians’ time in power.
At least for now, MAGA is the catalyst for limiting these politicians from serving for life and becoming very rich from their efforts. If only it would work with the Democrats.