Republican primaries, a litmus test for the tea party? Yes and no  

AUSTIN — The primaries start Tuesday with early voting, and the heavily contested races statewide could serve as a litmus test as to the strength of the tea party in Texas.

Multiple statewide races on the Republican side are heavily contested in Texas: attorney general, comptroller, agriculture commissioner and lieutenant governor — the head of the state senate.

The candidates have frequently labeled themselves as more conservative as they appeal to conservative voters, and in the heavily Republican Texas, the primaries are the biggest challenge.

“This is a Republican state, so in this case there are not many Democrats running,” Angelo State University Political Science Professor Jack Barbour said. “Whoever wins the primary is probably going to win the election. The tea party tends to belong to a more conservative block. … Everyone in the Republican Party seems to be trying to be more conservative than the other person.”

“As Lt. Governor, Dewhurst has championed and helped pass some of the most fiscally and socially conservative laws in the nation,” Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s campaign bio for his re-election states.

Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson’s campaign site lists issues all of the lieutenant governor candidates adhere to: Second Amendment rights, “Protecting Life” and border security.

“Authentic Conservative Leadership,” are among the first words graving state Sen. Dan Patrick’s website as the Houston Republican runs for lieutenant governor.

“Consistent Conservative Leadership for Texas,” is the motto of Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples in his lieutenant governor campaign.

Now that the tea party has sent a wildly famous and infamous Sen. Ted Cruz to Washington, D.C. over Dewhurst in the last U.S. Senate race in Texas, along with a hefty class of state representatives to Austin, the statewide races could measure whether the tea party has become entrenched or whether its power will wane.

“This is the year that they need to show up and prove it up,” said Bill Miller, a political affairs lobbyist in Austin. “They’ve got momentum and recognition. It’s on them this season. … They’ve been a political phenomenon and a movement going on four years now. They’ve grown in confidence and certainly in volume, (but) your candidate has to win. You have to be successful at the ballot box.”

In a way, the turn toward driving everyone further and further right in political discussions is a mark of the power the tea party still has, Miller said.

“They can take some satisfaction in that everyone running out there is running as the most conservative candidate they can describe,” Miller said. “Everybody is a conservative, not just a conservative, but a real conservative.”

Miller said a couple of the key races to watch are Patrick’s lieutenant governor bid, since he has considered himself a tea party favorite, and the campaign of state Sen. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, as he goes after the attorney general spot Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has left open to run for governor. Paxton faces state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas and Texas Railroad Commissioner Barry Smitherman.

Rice University Political Science Professor and department chairman Mark Jones said in some ways the elections can help measure tea party strength and in some it can’t because there are not exact lines as to who is a tea party candidate.

“We don’t have the clear-cut tea party establishment dynamic that we had in the Cruz-Dewhurst race,” Jones said. “The lines between the candidates are more blurred. No one enjoys unanimous support.”

Jones also suggested looking at Paxton and Patrick’s campaigns as possible measuring sticks, along with the amount of support U.S. Sen. John Cornyn gets in his bid of re-election, even though Jones said he expects Cornyn to win his bid against Chris Mapp, Dwayne Stovall, Reid Reasor, Linda Vega, Ken Cope, Curt Cleaver and Steve Stockman.

The fight for state representatives has moved forward as well.

The Accountability First PAC has been supporting incumbent challengers in Abilene’s area, such as Isaac Castro against incumbent state Rep. Susan King, R-Abilene, and Cullen Crisp against incumbent state Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland. Each challenging candidate got $3,000 in software and $2,500 in cash from the PAC.

State Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, faces tea party friendly pilot Shannon Thomason. The primary Election Day is March 4. Early voting continues until Feb. 28.

Reprinted with permission from the San Angelo Standard-Times.