Well, another primary runoff election is in the books, and to the surprise of absolutely no one who has ever stepped foot in West Texas, the color red reigns supreme. Locally, we can all breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the grueling battle for Lubbock County Commissioner is over. In Precinct 2, Kevin Pounds clinched the win over Trey Newton with a staggering, earth-shattering 3,500 votes. Over in Precinct 4, Jordan Rackler secured his seat against Chad Seay with a grand total of 2,885 votes. Because the Lubbock Democratic Party continues to exist purely in theory, neither of these positions features a general election challenger in November. Congratulations, gentlemen, you won a job for life because a handful of retirees showed up to vote between trips to the grocery store.
Meanwhile, the race for Jodey Arrington’s vacant 19th Congressional District seat ended with businessman Tom Sell defeating Abraham Enriquez. Despite state leaders like Dan Patrick trying to manifest an Enriquez victory by labeling him the “true America First” candidate, Sell leaned on his deep local establishment backing to lock it down. He will face a Democrat in the general election, but since this district voted for Donald Trump by a casual 52-point margin in 2024, Sell might as well start shopping for D.C. real estate and packing his bags today.
But the real entertainment was the statewide U.S. Senate race, where four-term incumbent John Cornyn learned that 40 years of loyal Republican service means absolutely nothing the second you show a hint of independent thought. Cornyn, who spent a mind-boggling amount of establishment money trying to convince voters that Attorney General Ken Paxton’s endless carousel of ethical scandals actually mattered, got completely demolished in a landslide victory for Paxton. It turns out that passing a bipartisan gun safety bill after the Uvalde shooting and suggesting Trump’s time “passed him by” is a one-way ticket to political exile. Paxton, freshly fueled by a last-minute Truth Social endorsement, successfully proved that statesmanship is dead and having your own party impeach you for corruption is actually a great campaign resume builder.
Who needs balanced budgets, functioning infrastructure, or actual legislative results when you can spend over $128 million statewide just to prove that absolute loyalty to a Florida country club is the only qualification that matters anymore?
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