July 18, 2014      5:57 PM
Updated - Rottinghaus: Which conservative groups endorsed best?
University of Houston political scientist ranks the success rates of Empower Texans, Texas Right to Life, and others in the primaries
With the 2014 primaries
and runoffs in the books, the refrain nationally and internationally is that
the Tea
Party ran the table in Texas.
The New York Times reported that the “Tea Party Holds Sway,” the Wall Street Journal wrote that the election showed the “Tea Party’s
Muscle,” while the Daily Mail in the United Kingdom proclaimed a “Tea Party
Takeover.”
Does the Tea Party wing of
the Republican Party control the Republican nomination politics in Texas? Texas is undoubtedly conservative but there
is variation in which groups have the most sway. One way to look at which groups are most
influential is to examine the successful percentage of endorsed candidates in
the primary and runoffs. An endorsement
from a political group signals to voters that the endorsed candidate’s views
are seminal to those of the organization and gives us a window into their
influence on the Republican electorate. The
voter guides produced by each political organization is a shorthand way for
voters to understand the views of the groups.
The complete column from Brandon Rottinghaus can be found in today's R&D Department.
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