That Texas special election was not a referendum on Trumpism

Texas state Rep. Jake Ellzey’s victory over Trump-endorsed Susan Wright may have been a blow to the former president. But it was not by any means a defeat for “Trumpism.”

Some may call Ellzey’s triumph a blow to Donald Trump. Although the former president has previously touted the weight of his endorsement, Trump’s influence within the Republican Party has been tested post-presidency. Mark McKinnon, a former adviser to the late-Sen. John McCain, said on MSNBC that Trump “bled tonight in Texas.”