{"id":2610468,"date":"2026-06-04T06:15:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T10:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/party-leaders-wrestle-with-another-candidate-quality-election\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T06:16:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T10:16:45","slug":"party-leaders-wrestle-with-another-candidate-quality-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/party-leaders-wrestle-with-another-candidate-quality-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Party leaders wrestle with another \u2018candidate quality\u2019 election"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fparty-leaders-wrestle-with-another-candidate-quality-election%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2610468&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article argues that the 2026 election will test how much voters value \u201ccandidate quality\u201d-especially when nominees face scandals-and that the biggest stakes are in races that could decide Senate control next year.<\/p>\n<p>It focuses on two key contests: **Maine**, were Democrats are expected too nominate **Graham Platner** despite a \u201csexting\u201d scandal and other past controversies, and **Texas**, where Republicans are backing **Ken Paxton** after attempting-while also largely failing-to support incumbent Senator **John Cornyn** with huge spending. The author notes that both parties are trying to manage or offset doubts about their candidates, but that these races have outsized consequences for the Senate map.<\/p>\n<p>The piece also places broader blame on a continuing GOP conversation about viability and electability during and after the Trump era, while noting Democrats have faced similar debates after high-profile sexual misconduct allegations derailed **Eric Swalwell**\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n<p>in Texas, the article highlights a **libertarian third candidate (Ted Brown)** who appears to be polling around 2% and could affect results by pulling votes from either side.Even prominent Republicans downplay Brown\u2019s odds, but Cornyn and others suggest his presence could harm Paxton among parts of the GOP electorate that didn\u2019t support him in the primary.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This story is part of a series of monthly snapshots from the\u00a0Washington Examiner, titled <strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4547563\/midterm-countdown-democrats-lead-gop-path-through\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4547563\/midterm-countdown-democrats-lead-gop-path-through\/\">Midterm Countdown<\/a><\/strong>, gauging the state of the 2026 election cycle.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2026-election\/\">2026 election<\/a> is shaping up to be another test of how much \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/3801740\/candidates-matter-gop-primary-voters-best-position-win\/\">candidate quality<\/a>\u201d matters to voters, and the answer could very well decide which party controls <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\/\">Congress<\/a> next year.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4594333\/adam-hawamy-new-jersey-omar-abdel-rahman-ties\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Republicans denounce New Jersey Democratic nominee over ties to militant Islamist<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4594024\/texas-election-chief-departs-ahead-midterm-elections\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Texas elections chief steps down ahead of midterm elections<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4593967\/california-vulnerable-republican-redistricting-victims-primaries\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>How California\u2019s vulnerable Republican redistricting victims have fared in their primaries<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democrats are poised to nominate Graham Platner as their candidate for Senate in Maine despite a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/politics\/elections\/graham-platners-wife-flagged-sexually-explicit-texts-to-his-senate-campaign-628ec832?mod=author_content_page_1_pos_1\">\u201csexting\u201d scandal<\/a> that has raised fresh doubts about his ability to defeat five-term incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Texas, Republicans have <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4584684\/thune-backs-ken-paxton-texas-primary\/\">grudgingly embraced<\/a> state Attorney General Ken Paxton after they tried, and failed, to prop up incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) with more than $100 million in campaign spending. Paxton has been dogged by corruption allegations and an affair that led to his 2023 impeachment in the Texas House.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Paxton and Platner races are hardly the only ones hinging on voters\u2019 willingness to overlook a candidate\u2019s flaws. In the House, both parties are dealing with candidates accused of affairs, insider trading, and more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the test cases in Texas and Maine, two states that will decide who controls the Senate next year, have outsize implications for each party \u2013 and are notable for how far leadership went to box out their respective candidates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senate Republicans spent months echoing Cornyn\u2019s warnings that Paxton was unelectable and would saddle the party under the weight of his controversy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The criticism of Platner was <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4591938\/graham-platner-makes-senate-democrats-squirm-blitz-dc\/\">more muted among Democrats<\/a>, but the fact that he is the presumptive nominee is a major setback for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who recruited Janet Mills (D-ME), a two-term incumbent governor, to challenge Collins, only for her campaign to flame out in April.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-a-majority-breaker-for-democrats\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">A majority-breaker for Democrats?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hanging over each race is the balance of power in Washington, and though Democrats are favored to retake the House regardless of any one candidate\u2019s weaknesses, they have more to lose if a nominee falters when it comes to the Senate map.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democrats need Texas, but also Maine and two other GOP-held states if they hope to win a Senate majority. And they can\u2019t lose a single blue seat to Republicans in the process.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the case of Platner, Democrats are wringing their hands over a bombshell report that he sent <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >women sexually explicit text messages early<\/a> in his marriage. But controversy has followed Platner since he launched his Senate campaign and was previously forced to cover up a tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol and apologize for online posts that downplayed rape and insulted black people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The conversation over candidate quality, a catch-all term that sweeps together scandal and a politician\u2019s overall strength as a messenger for the party, has consumed the GOP for the entirety of the Trump era.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Establishment Republicans, led by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), faulted Trump-backed candidates when they lost winnable races in the 2022 elections and credited strong recruitment when they returned to power two years later.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The president\u2019s 2024 coattails are one of the major reasons Republicans today hold unified control of Washington, and that was after the Capitol riot and his conviction in a Manhattan courtroom.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But there are plenty of Republicans who lack Trump\u2019s political teflon, and his endorsement of candidates like Herschel Walker in Georgia and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4591889\/john-curtis-open-minded-swing-vote-kari-lake-ambassador\/\">Kari Lake in Arizona<\/a> has created a lasting GOP debate over what makes someone viable with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fetterman-voted-to-put-murderers-back-on-streets\/\" title=\"Fetterman Voted to Put Murderers Back on Streets\">general election voters<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Democrats, that debate restarted in earnest in 2024, once President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and Vice President Kamala Harris lost as his hand-picked successor. And it has not let up since then.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More recently, Democrats found themselves engulfed in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/court-decision-puts-pressure-on-biden-to-reignite-gas-stove-war\/\" title=\"Court Decision Puts Pressure on Biden to Reignite Gas Stove War\">political firestorm surrounding<\/a> former Rep. Eric Swalwell, a front-running candidate for governor of California who suspended his campaign amid sexual misconduct allegations. Swalwell denied the allegations but stepped down from Congress in April. <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-general-election-pivot\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">General election pivot<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is Trump, in part, who is reviving the question of candidate quality. Senate Republicans were <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4575122\/senate-gop-fumes-trump-endorses-ken-paxton-texas\/\">livid over his late endorsement of Paxton<\/a> and believe it could cost them a seat Republicans have held <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2018\/11\/05\/heres-how-texas-voted-every-us-senate-election-1961\/\">for decades<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Trump\u2019s support also came after it appeared likely Paxton would have won the primary anyway, and Platner is experiencing a similar phenomenon in Maine. Democratic voters appear willing to look past his rolling controversies, and he had a whopping <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/senate\/democratic-primary\/2026\/maine\">30-point lead<\/a> at the time Mills dropped out of the race.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paxton <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4583907\/trump-cornyn-texas-senate-loss-sway\/\">won his runoff<\/a> against Cornyn last month, while Platner is expected to secure the Democratic nomination when Maine holds its Senate primary next Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How forgiving voters are of flawed candidates depends on a complicated set of factors, from the severity of the indiscretion to the ideological makeup of the state to the strength of the challenger.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Platner\u2019s appeal is the image he\u2019s cultivated for himself as a rough-and-tumble Marine who started over as an oysterman when he returned from military service.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Paxton, Republicans are hoping to cancel out questions over his moral fitness by tarring state Rep. James Talarico, his Democratic challenger, as <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4586358\/gop-low-t-strategy-against-james-talarico\/\">unmanly and too woke<\/a> for a red state like Texas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Platner leads Collins by 8 points, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/senate\/general\/2026\/maine\/collins-vs-platner\">according to<\/a> the <em>RealClearPolitics<\/em> polling average, and Paxton is as of now <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/senate\/general\/2026\/texas\/talarico-vs-paxton\">neck and neck<\/a> with Talarico. But that\u2019s before the deluge of campaign spending both parties will unleash in the fall, and much of it is expected to be negative.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cornyn is sitting on the sidelines as Republicans defend his seat, quipping that he was forced out of the \u201cprediction business\u201d when he lost to Paxton. But he denounced the \u201cunusual tolerance\u201d both parties now have for scandal, and suggested it could cost Republicans with independents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI hope this is just a passing phase,\u201d said Cornyn, who served for two cycles as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. \u201cI think now it\u2019s almost like ideological alignment is the most significant, and not policy or even candidate quality, but I think sometimes you have to relearn lessons the hard way.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-libertarian-wild-card-in-texas\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The libertarian wild card in Texas<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is a third candidate in the Texas Senate race, a libertarian named Ted Brown who is courting the independents Cornyn says will be so important this November.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brown, a retired insurance adjuster, has so far attracted few headlines, but the polling is tight enough in Texas that his presence on the ballot could be pivotal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brown received <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/2024-election\/results\/texas\/senate\/\">2.4% of the vote<\/a> when Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) ran for reelection in 2024, and he\u2019s hovering <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/static1.squarespace.com\/static\/67aa7aa3e284b002cd6a420e\/t\/6a0addffcba58d0751053542\/1779097087749\/TSUTexasNov2026.pdf\">around 2%<\/a> in the latest polling for this cycle. Paxton currently trails Talarico by 1.5 percentage points, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/senate\/general\/2026\/texas\/talarico-vs-paxton\">on average<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere are a lot of Republicans that didn\u2019t vote for Paxton in the primary, and a lot of them are not coming around,\u201d Brown <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.houstonpublicmedia.org\/articles\/news\/politics\/election-2026\/2026\/06\/02\/553443\/libertarian-ted-brown-senate-race-texas-paxton-talarico\/\">told<\/a> Houston Public Media on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Libertarian candidates generally eat away at the Republican vote and are regarded as spoilers, although Brown rejects that label. In New Hampshire, Republicans are <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4466010\/third-party-spoiler-new-hampshire-senate-race-unless-trump-ends-war-crypto\/\">dealing with the same debacle<\/a>, prompting one of the GOP Senate candidates to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/natlawreview.com\/press-releases\/2026-nh-liberty-forum-host-us-senate-candidates-scott-brown-and-aaron-day\">attend<\/a> a libertarian forum to vie for their support.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cruz ignored Brown altogether when asked about the impact he could have on the Texas race.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think Ken Paxton is going to win,\u201d Cruz said. \u201cTexas is a red state, and James Talarico\u2019s policy views are wildly out of step with the values of Texans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Cornyn opined that Brown \u201ccan\u2019t be good news for Paxton,\u201d and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) linked Brown\u2019s candidacy to Democratic attempts to \u201cdisrupt\u201d the race.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think that any disruption in the political ecosystem right now is probably designed by Democrats to give their candidates an advantage,\u201d Thune said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Brown campaign did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. midterm race 2026: \u201ccandidate quality\u201d may decide which party controls Congress next<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2651,"featured_media":2610469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-collage-wjnoarypw-1779982140741-e1779996698831.jpg?1780528059&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[35835,35324,35814,54157,80810],"class_list":["post-2610468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-campaign-strategy","tag-candidate-selection","tag-election-politics","tag-party-leaders","tag-voter-preferences"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-collage-wjnoarypw-1779982140741-e1779996698831.jpg?1780528059&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2610468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2651"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2610468"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2610468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2610472,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2610468\/revisions\/2610472"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2610469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2610468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2610468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2610468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}