Shocking. Humiliating. Just plain not great.
That's how Democrats describe losing a long-held South Texas Senate seat to upstart conservative Pete Flores on Tuesday night. The Republican win was historic, marking the first GOP victory there since just after the Civil War, but the implications stretch far beyond the district.
Republicans are now more likely to hold on to a supermajority in the Texas Senate that will lend even more legislative power to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the chamber's most conservative members. It also dampens Democrats' hopes that a so-called blue wave is coming to Texas.
"It does throw cold water on their side," Patrick spokesman Allen Blakemore said in an interview Wednesday. Echoing his boss, he added, "For those who were thinking about the 'blue wave,' it appears the tide is out."
