George P. Bush survives spirited Texas Republican primary challenge

John C Moritz | Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller Times

AUSTIN — Two Republicans, including one with a name as famous as any in Texas politics, survived spirited primary challenges Tuesday that aimed to recapture at least part of the GOP that has shown signs of slipping away.

In the Republican race for Texas land commissioner, first-term incumbent George P. Bush was leading the man who held the office for 12 years ending with the 2014 election as well as two other challengers en route to renomination.

"Texas voters - THANK YOU! Your steadfast support through this primary is what has made tonight’s victory possible!" Bush said in a message on Twitter after his victory was sealed.

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Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, whose penchant for off-color and sometimes offensive tweets and speeches have drawn comparisons with President Trump, was well ahead of two challengers.

Both races were closely watched, but for different reasons.

Texas voters - THANK YOU! Your steadfast support through this primary is what has made tonight’s victory possible! pic.twitter.com/6jYgpJAn1U — George P. Bush (@georgepbush) March 7, 2018

A runoff for Bush, the grandson of one president and the nephew of another, would have been a sign of weakness and could have stalled what four years ago started as a promising career in a family that has won political success first in New England where his great-grandfather was a U.S. senator, and later in both Texas and Florida.

Bush's own father is a former two-term governor of the Sunshine State and two years ago made his own bid, albeit unsuccessfully, for the presidency.

One of Miller's opponents, former lobbyist Trey Blocker, had hoped the incumbent's freewheeling style and crude language would have alienated more moderate Republicans and denied him a second term. The third candidate in the race was Jim Hogan, who four years ago was the Democratic nominee who lost to Miller in the general election.

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Bush, the only member of his large political family to embrace Trump in 2016, largely ignored his vocal but underfunded foes during the campaign. But he did collect a prodigious amount of cash and a long list of endorsements from organizations, Austin insiders and from the president and his son, Donald Trump Jr. Among those backing his bid for renomination were Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the Texas Medical Association's political arm and the Texas Oil and Gas Association.

Former Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, whose decision to vacate the office after three terms in 2014 opened the door for Bush's political debut, was the loudest and most visible among the challengers. Patterson's disappointment with his successor surfaced early. Shortly after taking office in 2015, Bush cleaned house and sent many Patterson appointees packing.

But driving the opposition was Bush's ambitious plan to "Reimagine the Alamo." Early in his term, Bush wrested control of the iconic shrine from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and set about making repairs and upgrades to the 300-year-old mission that now finds itself in the middle of a bustling downtown San Antonio.

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His critics charged that Bush hatched his plan without sufficient public input and would allow the heroism of the Alamo's defenders to be watered down in the interest of multiculturalism.

In the end, they did not sway enough GOP primary voters to make a difference. Bush will face Miguel Suazo, an energy lawyer who defeated software engineer Tex Morgan in the Democratic primary.

Miller will face Democrat Kim Olson, a retired Air Force colonel and a farmer who was nominated unopposed.

Follow John C. Moritz on Twitter: @JohnnieMo

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