Transcript

Texas Primary · Newsradio WGAN

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President Donald Trump on Tuesday endorsed Texas Attorney
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General Ken Paxton in his primary challenge to Senator
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John Cornyn, dealing a massive blow to the incumbent with major
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implications in the fight for the Senate Majority.
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Cornyn has spent over a year courting Trump's sport, while
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Paxton has run to Cornyn's right and pitched himself as a
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stronger ally of the president. Cornyn and the Senate GOP
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leaders argued that he is a stronger general election
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candidate as Democrats look to win statewide office in Texas
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for the first time since 1994. The runoff is a week away and
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early voting began on Monday. Quote I know Ken well, have seen
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him tested at the highest and most difficult levels and he is
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a winner. All caps All caps Very
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important. John Cornyn is a good man and I
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worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times
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were tough, he added, appearing to reference how Cornyn
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hesitated to support Trump in his 2024 campaign.
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Cornyn said in the spring of 2023 that he thought Trump's
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time had passed him by, though the Texas senator eventually
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endorsed the president after he won the New Hampshire primary.
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Cornyn reacted to Trump tapping Paxton by noting that the
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president has consistently called me a friend in this race.
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It is now time for Texas Republican voters to decide if
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they want a strong nominee to help our GOP candidates down the
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ballot and defeat James Talarico in November or a weak nominee
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who jeopardizes everything that we care about, Cornyn said on XI
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Trust Republican Voters of Texas.
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Trump's intervention in a runoff comes at a high profile moment
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for his dominance within the GOP.
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Earlier this month, he helped unseat a group of Indiana State
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lawmakers who resisted his push for mid decade, mid decade
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redistricting. On Saturday, Louisiana Senator
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Bill Cassidy lost his primary five years after he voted to
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convict Trump in his second impeachment.
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And on Tuesday, Trump is working to defeat one of his biggest GOP
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critics in Congress, Representative Thomas Massie of
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Kentucky, in that primary. This story was written before
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the race was done, and Massie lost, by the way, in case you
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didn't know. So I'll actually cover that
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separately as its own story. But, you know, we're talking
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about Paxton here. Vice President JD Vance,
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appearing at a White House press briefing on Tuesday afternoon,
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said that Trump's endorsement of Paxton sends a message to
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elected officials who fall out of step with voters or out of
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step with the president. That is a good, not a good place
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to be politically. Vance said Democrats have been
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eyeing the Texas Senate seat in their uphill battle to capture
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the chamber majority and the state.
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And the state becomes particularly enticing if the
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scandal plagued Paxton does in fact, defeat Cornyn.
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The state's Democrats resolved their primary on March 3rd,
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picking Teller Rico, who is currently a state
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representative. Teller Rico quickly responded to
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Trump's endorsement to the run off quote.
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As I said on primary night, it doesn't matter who wins the the
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the run off. Excuse me, we already know who
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we're running against, the billionaire mega donors and
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their corrupt political system. National Democratic groups also
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use the news to tout the strength of Telarico's campaign.
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A spokesperson for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign
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Committee said in a statement that while Republicans were
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divided in the race, Telarico is building a campaign to win and
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Texans will send him to the US Senate in November.
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Telarico, by the way, just really quickly, not quite as
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weird, not quite as bizarre, not quite as odd as Graham Plattner.
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But you know, it's kind of close.
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It's kind of close when you start looking at the Teller
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Rico's background. That guy is a very odd duck, a
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very odd duck. And you would not really think
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in Texas that he would have much of a chance at all.
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But because of the environment, you know, I was looking at the
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numbers yesterday for a presentation I was giving, and
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the numbers I was looking at were the special elections that
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have taken place this year. So somebody's retiring,
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somebody's dead, whatever. And you have to do a special
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election in Congress. Interestingly enough, none of
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the special elections have caused the party in control of
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the seat to change hands. There has not been a flip in any
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of these special elections yet. However, there has been a
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significant move in the special elections, and the move has been
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on average between 15 and 20 points to the left.
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So a district that had a Republican win with like, say,
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35% of the vote, they would win by like 15 or 20%.
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So they still win, but the margin is down.
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And it was consistently across everywhere.
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Now, I've cautioned people to not only, you know, like learn
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that lesson or whatnot, but also not over learn the lesson
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because you can't draw too much information from that.
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This is a very, I mean, you're talking about 20% turn out
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right, like low turn out elections, highly motivated
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Democrats, not so motivated Republicans.
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It's just the way that it is. Does that mean that the fall
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election is going to go a certain way?
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Is that mean it's going to be a blue wave, anything like that?
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No, it does not. It does not.
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It could indicate it, but we don't really know until people
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start showing up in more substantial numbers and when
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then seeing what those what those numbers look like.
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So you don't really know, but it does give you at least some
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inkling that this is not going to be a good Republican year.
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This is going to be a a bad Republican year overall
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nationwide with pockets of good and bad in in states depending
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on local circumstances. Just the way that it works.
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And I think Maine, I have lots to say about how Maine maybe one
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of those local special circumstances.
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But when you're talking about Texas, Texas is red.
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It's very red. It's been very red for a very
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long time. But The funny thing about it
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being red is that it hasn't so red that it's impossible to see
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this. I mean, you have seen Republican
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governors of Massachusetts, you know, you've seen over the years
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many places. There's, there's Democratic
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governors of Kentucky, you know, there it, it's just, it happens.
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It happens. So it can happen anywhere.
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Anybody can be elected statewide anywhere.
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I've always believed that I there could be a governor of
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California or a senator from California who happens to be a
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Republican, have to be the right Republican in the right year,
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but it can easily happen. So the idea that a Democrat
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could win Texas is not bizarre. And with the national winds
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blowing the way that they are and the fact that Texas is a red
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state, but it's not like a it's not like Utah.
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Yeah. I mean, like, there's barely any
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Democrats that live in Utah. It's just there just isn't
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Texas. There is.
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There is. They're just definitely the
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minority. They're just definitely the
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smaller group. But they're big enough that
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they're close enough that in certain circumstances, it could
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work. Now, does Teller, Rico really
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have a chance to win against either Cornyn or Paxton?
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I think he could, but I think he would be the underdog for sure.
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Paxton, though it is undeniable, is the easier person for them to
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run against. He just is.
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He may be more of an ally of the president, but he definitely
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will be more of a lightning rod, more divisive, and easier for
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Teller Rico to lampoon as an extremist.
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You know, it doesn't make him one, but it means that you can
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lampoon him as such. And you know, Paxton will do
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that. Back to Teller, Rico, and then
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maybe we're in a really weird duel in that state.
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I don't know. We'll see.
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But this certainly gives indications that Cornyn's time,
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much like several others that have been on the wrong side of
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the president, is potentially over.
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Let's go to John from Falmouth. John, how are you?
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Hi, Matt. What's up with the ABC News
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feed? What's up with it?
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We have one. What do we?
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What do you be more specific when you ask?
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Are you done with CBS? It's not that we're ending.
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CBS is at CBS is. Ending everyone.
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Yeah, Yeah, actually. Their overnight news actually
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did a tribute to the CBS Radio network, and the history of it
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goes way back. I mean, it's very storied.
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And so this is kind of a major, it's an issue, It's a, it's a,
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it's a major event that CBS Radio.
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Yes, we've changed. Everything's changed, but it's
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kind of a so the. Point being though, John, is
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that we had no choice, so we had to find a new partner.
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And ABC, congratulations, you have won.
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Phones, Phones. Phones. 879-9426.
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Al from Saco. No.
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Excuse me. Al from Portland.
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I cannot. Old habits die hard.
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Al from Portland. How are you?
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Oh, I'm fine, Matt. Thank you very much for taking
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my call. What a weird time we're in.
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My God almighty, seems like back in the 60s when I was tripping
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on LSD, My goodness. And this, this fraud, I mean,
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this is unbelievable. All these Minnesota phone
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numbers and I watched that guy from the main wire going to that
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fifth wheel trailer and in Quentin, supposedly a health
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place. My goodness.
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And and and and and this thing with Platner is more disturbing
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as time goes on. Oh my God, please people vote
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Republican. I'm no big fan of Susan Collins.
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I didn't like her vote for the trunk and entitled frat boy
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there Kavanaugh, but my God, she's our only alternative.
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God help us if we get the. Left.
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Good Lord, help us. And for me to think the guy is
9:45
really disturbed. That in itself isn't true.
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You have a good. Day, thanks.
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Peace Pop. Microdot, always a pleasure.
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Al appreciate it. And it's funny, I see, I look
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and I see Al from Portland and my head just says Al from Saco.
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Good call as always. Al appreciate it. 879-9426 Rob
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in Portland is next. Rob, how are you?
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Great. How you doing, Matt?
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Not too bad. Yeah, I haven't called in a
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while, but you always have a great show and I'm always
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listening and it's an honor to follow Al.
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Indeed it is that I knew I had something to say, but I just so
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much to say. I don't know where to start.
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But on the, on the Platner thing, I mean, it's like Trump,
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obviously, I mean, you can, you can see the game he plays.
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And it's like with the Paxton thing, it's, it's, you know, he
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just wants blind loyalty and he's, he's going to pull those
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strings to make that happen. And he's going to punish the
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people who didn't show him blind loyalty.
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And it seems to me like, I don't know, I don't know what Paxton
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Paxton's experience is, but Cornyn's got a lot of a lot of
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miles in down there in Washington, DC like Susan
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Collins does here. We'd be foolish to give up Susan
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Collins. But on the Platiner thing, it's,
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it's interesting, you know, when, when, you know, when
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things happened and they had to March in Washington with their
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pink hats on, you know, all the things that that were
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unforgivable about Trump. I was, I was with friends and
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family up in in New Hampshire and I was, we were all, you
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know, doing a waterfall tour and having a great day.
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But it got into politics, which made me go completely silent.
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I just listen at that point. But some very liberal people and
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you know, so and some women who were very liberal and they are
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absolutely contorting all of their ideology to forgive
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Plattner for things that were not forgivable in the behavior
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of Donald Trump. And it's just interesting to,
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you know, see that. So, you know, I mean, I admit
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I've become very polarized. So, but so have they.
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And you know, it's like I've said for for a long while with
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trumpets or or with any leader, I'm not hiring a Boy Scout.
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I'm hiring somebody to do the business that I want done for
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this country. And it's it really is.
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Yeah. Like that?
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It is indeed. But you know that that I would
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caution people over time to be careful about the
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rationalizations of, you know, not wanting to really care that
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much about a good person in office because I want them to do
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with the job. Because that that is an OK
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philosophy in general. But if you start accepting it,
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right, I mean, there's that old joke that you can't be a little
12:50
bit pregnant. It's binary.
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It's like you're either in or you're out, right?
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It's kind of the same with like moral depravity.
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Like, I mean, if you don't care, then you don't care.
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And then sometimes, often times, maybe increasingly, you get
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treated with a whole bunch of really horrific people that end
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up being the people that you're hiring for these jobs because
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you don't really have any standards anymore.
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And I think that's that's what's going on in the Platner thing,
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like on the left. You know, I don't know whether
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it's that they're just hypocritical or they say, well,
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the Republicans don't care, so neither do we.
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Either way, they're saying none of this stuff matters to us.
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It is irrelevant to us. I don't care.
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I don't like Susan Collins. I don't like Trump.
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A chimpanzee who is on our side in our tribe would be fine.
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I don't care. Forget it.
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And so that's what they do is they rationalize.
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They say it's OK that he's clearly imbalanced, he's clearly
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a rageaholic, he's clearly insane, he's clearly depraved.
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But I don't care because the only outcome I care about is
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sticking my finger in that guy's eye.
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And that's a sad place to be. I don't like being there.
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I don't like being there. Rob, let me let me stop you
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there, though, because I do want to make sure I get Ray and
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Lewiston before I get out of here.
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He's only got about a minute. So, Ray, what do you got for us?
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2 real quick things. One thing Platinum is not sorry
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unless he gets caught. And then the other thing is
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about we talked about before about his disability.
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I wanted to know if his disability is full or not
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because it seems like his wife is getting all the the money
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from his oyster farm and his campaign it's getting funneled
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through her. He is.
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He is full disabled 100%. So.
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So technically he can't have a job then?
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Well, I don't know. I am not an expert on how that
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works. To be perfectly frank with you.
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Clearly he has an oyster farm. So, I mean, you know, and now
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he's as public as public can be. So if he's not allowed to do
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that, then I don't know, complaints being filed as we
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speak probably I would imagine, but my guess is that he is
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allowed to do that kind of thing.
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It's just a really big hole in the in the system if if so.
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Ray, thanks for the call. Appreciate it.