The Bush family backing Talarico represents the worst of establishment Republicanism
By Easton Martin
The Bush family’s decision to back Democrat James Talarico in Texas’s U.S. Senate race offers another reminder of the divide between the Republican establishment and the party’s conservative voters. Barbara Bush, daughter of former President George W. Bush, donated $2,500 to a political action committee supporting Talarico, while Neil Bush publicly announced that he voted for the Democratic candidate. Their decisions place members of one of Texas’s most recognizable Republican families behind a candidate seeking to defeat Republican Ken Paxton.
Barbara Bush contributed to Lone Star Rising PAC on September 23, according to federal campaign finance records. Neil Bush, brother of former President George W. Bush, announced his vote in a Facebook post on October 20. He cited concerns about Paxton’s record and praised Talarico’s character, while also criticizing President Trump’s influence on the Republican Party.
This development says a tremendous deal about the priorities of the old Republican establishment. For years, the Bush political brand represented a model of Republican leadership that emphasized conventional Washington politics and a more restrained approach to conservative priorities. The Trump movement emerged in large part because many Republican voters wanted a different direction on immigration, trade, national sovereignty and the political establishment itself.
The Bush family’s latest decisions suggest that some members of that establishment remain more comfortable with a Democrat than with a Republican aligned with President Trump.
