Texas Democratic Senate candidate State Rep. James Talarico greets supporters outside Whataburger on October 23, 2026 in Austin, Texas. Talarico won big Tuesday night. | Sergio Flores/Getty Images On May 3, 2016 — the night Donald Trump effectively clinched the Republican Party’s presidential nomination for the first time — then-Sen. Lindsey Graham tweeted, “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed…….and we will deserve it.” Graham was scarcely alone in voicing such sentiments. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former Gov. Jeb Bush, and most political analysts said much the same thing. After al...