Convenience Big Store: Did Texas block Border Patrol from rescuing migrants?

JANUARY SALE: Only 99¢ for Unlimited Digital Access!
Act Now

How Trump win could help Abbott

One of the biggest losers from the Iowa Caucuses could be the Texas Republican Primary.

By former President Donald Trump soundly defeating Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley in Iowa, Trump now heads into next Tuesday's New Hampshire primary with a chance to rack up another big win and start salting away the GOP nomination.

If that happens, expect turnout for the March 5 Texas primary to plummet and affect other races. In 2016 when U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz was still battling Trump in March, nearly 3 million people voted in the GOP primaries. That was good for almost 20 percent turnout. But in 2020 with Trump seeking re-election and facing only token GOP opposition, just 2 million people voted. That made for a 12 percent turnout.

The numbers were even lower in 2012 when Mitt Romney had pretty much locked down the GOP nomination by the time Texas voted. With no fireworks at the top of the ticket, just 1.5 million people voted, or 11 percent.

That all means a much lower turnout for competitive down-ballot GOP primary races like for the state Legislature and Congress. Brandon Rottinghaus at the University of Houston tells me that lower turnout generally means more influence for core primary voters - in this case, committed conservatives.

And that could help both Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as they travel the state trying to influence primary voters. Abbott is trying to knock off Republicans in the Texas House who voted against his school voucher program, and Paxton is trying to beat House Republicans who voted to impeach him last May for alleged corruption. The Texas Senate ultimately acquitted Paxton of the charges.

With smaller turnout, Rottinghaus said both probably have a better chance of being able to influence outcomes than if the state is closer to that 3 million-person primary in 2016.

Jeremy Wallace, Texas politics reporter

jeremy.wallace@houstonchronicle.com

Who's up, who's down

Up: Vengeance.

The Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was in Beaumont on Monday, and it wasn't to get a jump-start on crawfish season. Kim Brent at the Beaumont Enterprise reports that the Republican was there campaigning for David Covey, a Republican challenging House Speaker Dade Phelan for re-election. "It takes tremendous courage taking on the Speaker of the House, and I have a lot of respect for you taking on this fight," Paxton told Covey.

Down: Ron DeSantis.

He visited every county in Iowa, had Gov. Kim Reynolds' endorsements and tens of millions spent from super PACS helping him. Yet he still finished about 30 percentage points behind Trump in Iowa. With more moderate voters looming in New Hampshire and Haley's home state of South Carolina after that, it is safe to wonder what his path forward is.

What do you think? Hit reply and let me know.

What else is going on in Texas

Icicles are shown dripping from a road sign along SH 249 Hwy. near FM 1960 Rd. Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, in Houston.

Photo by: Melissa Phillip, Staff Photographer

ERCOT power grid holds up through the worst of the freeze

The amount of solar resources powering the grid set a record Tuesday morning, despite cold temperatures.

FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2010 file photo, a massive fire roars through a neighborhood in San Bruno, Calif. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. says it is prepared to pay the maximum fine of $3 million after a jury convicted the company of deliberately violating pipeline safety regulations before a deadly natural gas pipeline explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area and then misleading investigators looking into the blast. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

Photo by: Paul Sakuma, Associated Press

Congress at odds over pipeline safety funding as ruptures continue

More than a decade after Congress passed landmark legislation designed to make safer the nation's pipeline system, lawmakers are at odds over whether the sector is in need of greater oversight.

In this courtroom sketch, prospective jurors file into the courtroom as Donald Trump, third left, stands surrounded by his defense team. Alina Habba, fourth left, Trump's lead defense attorney, stands beside him. E. Jean Carroll, background second from right, stands with her attorney Roberta Kaplan, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, in New York.

Photo by: Elizabeth Williams, AP

Donald Trump back in court for defamation trial in New York

Former President Donald Trump was in a New York courthouse on Tuesday to attend the penalty phase of a civil defamation trial.

Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley speaks to a crowd as part of her closing argument to Iowans ahead of Monday's GOP presidential caucuses on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Photo by: Meg Kinnard, AP

Fact check: Haley claims Biden deported only fraction of migrants

The remarks from the Republican primary presidential candidate are missing details about border crossings and deportations under Joe Biden.

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks in Des Moines, Iowa, July 28, 2023. Hutchinson is dropping out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination after finishing sixth in Iowa's leadoff caucuses. The former Arkansas governor said Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, that his poor performance in Iowa showed him that he has no path to the Republican nomination.

Photo by: Charlie Neibergall, AP

Former Arkansas governor ends his 2024 campaign for president

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is dropping out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination after finishing sixth in Iowa's leadoff caucuses.

Pick of the day

Migrants cross the Rio Grande into the U.S. from Mexico behind Concertina wire and a sign warning that it's dangerous and illegal to cross, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. According to U.S. officials, a Mexican enforcement surge has contributed to a sharp drop in illegal entries to the U.S. in recent weeks.

Photo by: AP

The death of a mother and two children in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass on Friday has become a major blame game, reporter Benjamin Wermund writes. After U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said state officials blocked Border Patrol from rescuing a woman and two children who drowned in the river, state officials say it's "wholly inaccurate" that they prevented agents from saving their lives.

What else I'm reading

Yes, there is politics in tacos too. Just read Texas Monthly's latest on the implications of Laredo-based Taco Palenque trying to bring Tex-Mex into Mexico.