(AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)
This morning, I reported on the results of the TX-06 special election which resulted in a Republican lockout. What that means is that in the jungle primary system there, the top two finishers who will go to a runoff are both Republicans. In a district that went only Trump +3 in 2020, the GOP combined for around 69% of the vote. That’s a massive overperformance, though, as others have pointed out, turnout was low.
I think you can look at this two ways. One, you can assume it means nothing, or two, you can believe it shows Republicans are capable of retaking ground in suburban districts they saw slipping away previously. What is undeniable is that there is no bad news that comes from winning a House seat, so, in that sense, yesterday was a win regardless of whether it portends anything for 2022 or not.