Texas Republicans debate whether low turnout represents bad omen for Paxton-Talarico race

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was handed a decisive victory in this week’s Senate primary in the Lone Star State. 

But as the general election against state Rep. James Talarico (D-Texas) begins to take shape, Republicans are scrambling to understand why turnout in one of the nation’s most closely watched races was so low. 

The numbers speak for themselves: Approximately 2.16 million Republicans voted in the primary in March. But only roughly 1.39 million cast ballots in Tuesday’s runoff between Paxton and longtime incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), despite the massive attention paid to the battle.

It’s not a complete surprise to see voter turnout fall precipitously from a primary election to a runoff race, and some in the GOP brushed off the turnout results, particularly given that the race was the Tuesday after Memorial Day weekend.

“It’s much ado about nothing,” said Republican consultant Brian Seitchik, who worked for the Trump campaign in 2016. “There’s always a drop-off in a runoff.”

Seitchik also suggested plenty of voters sat out the race because President Trump’s endorsement of Paxton ensured the result.

“It became clear that Paxton was going to win this race two weeks ago, and the Trump endorsement sealed the deal. This race had become all but certain,” Seitchik said.

Still, the downturn was notable, and other Republicans expressed public worries about what it might foreshadow.

Tuesday’s totals in the Cornyn-Paxton fight amounted to a 36 percent decrease in what was........

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