When it comes to Donald Trump, Texas Republican leaders are following the lead of many of their GOP counterparts in the rest of the country.
Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and US Sen. John Cornyn have gone on record as condemning Trump’s words. But none of these men has gone so far as to withdraw his support for the presidential candidate. Even Sen. Ted Cruz is holding fast. Cruz famously refused to endorse Trump at the Republican Convention in Cleveland but has since done so.
As The Texas Tribune reports,many younger GOP operatives in the Lone Star State are growing increasingly angry with party leaders who maintain fealty to Trump. Jennifer Sarver, a former official in George W. Bush’s administration, lashed out that condemning Trump while still supporting his candidacy is “hollow, cynical, and hypocritical.”