The Grind:
Every candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump in Texas’s Republican primaries have either won or are substantially leading their races as of 11:00 p.m. ET, potentially solidifying Trump’s kingmaker status in the first primaries of 2022.
The Details:
The 45th president gave his stamp of approval — a much coveted prize among Republican hopefuls — to 33 candidates. Polling out of Texas has already shown that GOP voters are more likely to support candidates who have passed Trump’s muster.
Trump’s endorsement secured the nomination of incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who faced fierce primary opposition from former State Sen. Don Huffines and former State Party Chairman Allen West. He also lifted two of House Republicans’ top recruits to the nomination without a runoff: Monica De La Cruz and Wesley Hunt, who are both at 56 percent with well over half the votes counted.
The Texas primaries are the first regularly scheduled primary elections in the 2022 cycle, making it the first opportunity to test the power of Trump’s endorsement post-presidency. As Breitbart News previously reported, how Trump fares on these races could influence how aggressive he gets in future primaries elsewhere in America. Read more…