In His Game Of Texas Holdum, Trump Still Has The Winning Hand

DALLAS —Winning the special election for Congress in Texas' 6th District would land GOP candidate Michael Wood a seat in one of the most historically Republican spots in the state — suburban Dallas.

And there was speculation from across the political spectrum (including a favorable mention from Politico) suggesting that the fresh-faced Republican could certainly "blaze a trail" for anti-Trumpers.

And then there's now.

In an April 5 video, Wood repudiated the former president and claimed that Trump's post-election conduct should preclude him from ever leading the GOP again. Talk like that hasn't played nearly as well across the country as some moderates would have hoped — and some Dems expected, especially in the wake of the January 6 insurrection.

But as they say in Texas, "that dog won't hunt" in suburban Dallas.

Now at the onset of early voting, Wood's poll numbers are actually more of a poll number: one percent.

Texans' love affair with Donald Trump, especially here, remains in full bloom, as the candidates who have most vocally cast their lot with the former chief executive significantly out-poll Wood by double digits.

That being the case, what is Wood thinking? Well, he may be thinking about how Texas and the district are taking on an increasingly blue pallor. Trump took the district by 12 points in 2016; by 2020, that lead had deflated to a mere three points.

With endorsements from anti-Trumpers William Kristol and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), who has steadfastly denounced the ex-president since the Capitol Hill riots, Wood may be setting himself up as a Republican that Democrats could stomach.

And to add a little Texas twister of drama to the entire proceeding, the election was actually called because Rep. Ron Wright (R-TX) died after contracting COVID-19. Wright had been a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, as his voting record reflected.

The special election to fill the seat is slated for May 1.