David Dewhurst should withdraw from the lieutenant governor’s race. He earned a spot in the primary runoff with a second-place finish last week, but he has no chance to defeat Dan Patrick. None. Patrick is a strong figure with a large following that Dewhurst could never match; he beat Dewhurst in the primary by roughly 100,000 votes. Why Dewhurst continues to throw good money after bad is a mystery, but he should have learned something from his race against Ted Cruz in 2012, if only that it makes no sense for him to continue. Patrick is a lock to be the next lieutenant governor.
If Dan Branch is getting pressure to drop out in favor of Ken Paxton in the race to be the Republican nominee for attorney general, he should do the same, as Harvey Hilderbran did before him in the race for comptroller. The legislators who are calling for Branch to drop out are exaggerating the strength of Battleground Texas. I don’t think they have accomplished very much, and I don’t envision a threat materializing. If there is a threat to Republicans from Democrats, it will come from Wendy Davis, not Battleground Texas, and it will come in the fall. But as with Dewhurst, I can’t see any path to victory for Branch.
