Today's Video Headlines: 02/02/26
Not as badly as apocalyptic headlines in left-leaning outlets would suggest — but badly enough that Republicans nationwide have to learn some searing lessons.Christian Menefee’s victory narrows the GOP’s congressional majority only because that safely blue seat had been vacant sinceDemocrats crush Republicans in race for Congress, clinch historic high in Fox News pollDSA vows to hurt moderate Dems who don’t back ‘abolish ICE’ plan: ‘Not being Trump is not enough’ The trouble is, Rehmet didn’t just win — he won by more than 14 points in a red-leaning Ft.
Worth-area district. Democrats and much of the media converged on the same message: This was a district Donald Trump won by roughly 17 points in 2024; the swing away from the GOP was more than 30 points, a staggering humiliation that augurs a Republican wipeout in November.Merely 94,000 people voted, barely a third as many as participated the last time the seat was up in a general election, back in 2022, when nearly 278,000 ballots were cast. The advantage the party opposing the White House historically enjoys in midterms applies all the more in special elections: The opposition is always more motivated, and it takes especially intense motivation to get voters to the polls in January after a winter storm. Add the fact the real contest for this seat is the one in November, and Saturday’s winner doesn’t actually get to attend the legislature, and the scenario for maximizing the protest vote and minimizing Republican turnout was perfect. On top of that, the GOP was divided — in the special election’s first round last fall, two Republicans vied against each other as well as Rehmet, allowing him to beat them both.All this means the Republican performance was abysmal, not prophetically catastrophic, on Saturday.In Texas and around the country, the last thing Republicans should do is swallow the Democratic line that fixes the blame for the GOP’s woes on Trump and his agenda. In fact, Democrats won in Texas by borrowing from Trump’s playbook: Rehmet ran as a populist and went all-out toTrump is president today because he’s a master at winning blue-collar voters who like him but don’t like the Republican brand.When Trump’s on the ballot, his personal brand is strong enough to boost his party down-ticket, but in midterms Republicans are on their own again. Indeed, they get the worst of both worlds: Anti-Trump voters turn out to punish his party, while pro-Trump voters who don’t feel much connection to the GOP itself stay home in droves. Republicans have to overcome this by making Trump’s brand their own, giving his working-class voters reasons to vote for them on their own merits without Trump on the ballot. They have to do it while maintaining party unity — unlike what just transpired in Texas — despite free-market conservatives’ unease about populism, and despite the tendency of some religious conservatives to think social issues are enough to win without making a pocketbook pitch to the working class. It’s in typically red regions like Texas’ 9th senate district that the GOP is most hazardously complacent. Democrat Christian Menefee celebrating after winning his special election for Texas’ 18th Congressional District in Houston on Jan. 31, 2026.Those are the places where the old formulas have worked best for the longest time — which leaves an opening for Democrats to go after the working-class votes many Republicans ignore. Keeping social and economic conservatives together in a single coalition is hard enough; why complicate it by trying to squeeze in populists as well?And increasingly, that’s what it takes to win in places like Texas, too.Cindy AdamsHospital evacuated after 8-inch WWI artillery shell discovered in patient's butt
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A “wake up call” for Texas Republicans in Tarrant CountyTexas Senate District 9 has been Republican since 1991. How did the Democrat pull off an upset?
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Texas Senate Seat Flip Signals Trouble for RepublicansDemocrat Taylor Rehmet's victory in a special election for a Texas state Senate seat, in a district previously held by Republicans and won by Donald Trump in 2024, is a warning sign for the GOP, according to political experts, despite a likely rematch in the fall. The result indicates a trend of Republicans underperforming and Democrats overperforming in special elections, with Tarrant County, where the district is located, serving as a key indicator of Republican performance in the upcoming 2026 elections.
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