TUESDAY NIGHT, the Texas GOP delivered for former governor George W. Bush–in grand fashion. Besides holding the governor’s mansion and the Senate seat vacated by retiring senator Phil Gramm, the party refused to concede any statewide office to a Democrat, leaving the Democrats’ representation at the highest levels of Texas government at zero.

Republicans didn’t just beat their opponents; they pummeled them. With 90 percent of precincts reporting, Governor Rick Perry and U.S. senator-elect John Cornyn led their opponents Tony Sanchez and Ron Kirk by 18 and 12 points, respectively. GOPers down the ballot showed similar strength, with many of the “closer” races having victory gaps around 10 percentage points. Despite all the hype about the racial “dream team” of Kirk and Sanchez, Democrats really thought their best bet at gaining an office was with lieutenant governor candidate John Sharp, a white, moderate Democrat. Sharp conceded to Houston oil investor David Dewhurst Wednesday morning.