Free Republic

A tea party leader is favored to become Texas' lieutenant governor. A Ted Cruz-endorsed newcomer is inching closer to replacing Democrat Wendy Davis in the statehouse. On television, millions of dollars in attack ads have given established Republican incumbents all they can handle. For all the talk of Texas growing competitive for Democrats in 2016 and beyond, GOP voters are poised to make a harder turn right on Tuesday. Though the tea party has sputtered this year in elections around the country, Texas' conservative insurgents are the front-runners in Republican primary runoffs for major statewide offices and positioned to bolster...

Mitt Romney's march to a possible Republican presidential nomination just got a lot longer and harder. Front-runner Romney left Tuesday's round of three nominating contests with another reminder of his own shortcomings, after a two-state winning streak that had placed him firmly in the driver's seat in the nomination race. Bad losses to rival Rick Santorum in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota raised more questions about whether conservative Republicans are ready to give their hearts to a millionaire former Massachusetts governor who once supported abortion rights and a government requirement that people have health insurance.

Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele dropped his bid for a second term on Friday after being offered a lucrative deal in exchange for his endorsement, sources on the committee tell The Hotline. Steele dropped out of the race for chairman after four ballots on Friday and threw his support to Maria Cino, a former Bush administration official who finished third in the race. Steele endorsed Cino from the stage after ending his bid, a rare public announcement in a contest marked more by quiet member-to-member conversations. That endorsement came at a cost, according to committee insiders. As candidates...