Craig Goldman wins Congressional District 12 Republican primary runoff race

Craig Goldman has defeated John O’Shea in the Republican primary runoff election for U.S. Congressional District 12 with more than 63% of the vote, according to the Associated Press.

O’Shea had 36.8% of the vote, with 57% of polling locations reporting, according to the Texas secretary of state.

Earlier in the evening, Goldman gave a cautiously optimistic pre-victory speech to “give the opportunity to ... let everyone go early and go watch the Mavs game, ” he said, speaking to a packed house at Fort Worth’s Courtside Kitchen.

“I just can’t thank everyone in this room enough, I can’t thank the people of Congressional District 12 enough, for the votes today,” he said. “It looks really really, really good.”

But Goldman was careful not to claim outright that he had won out over O’Shea.

“Tomorrow we wake up and the work continues, because this is just another speed bump,” he said. “We are not punching a ticket to Washington, D.C., yet. We are the — well, we hopefully will be the Republican nominee for all the ballot In November, and we still have another race to win.”

The 12th Congressional District is made up of parts of Fort Worth, as well as Haltom City, Benbrook and Azle, and extends across the northern half of Parker County, including Weatherford.

“I like the early numbers. I like the early vote,” Goldman said earlier at his watch part at Courtside Kitchen in Fort Worth.

Lucila Seri, O’Shea’s campaign manager, lamented his loss, saying that voters had been misinformed about the issues.

“You can only do so much with a lot of negative mailers,” Seri said at O’Shea’s watch party held at Fort Worth’s Fitzgerald restaurant and bar. “Unfortunately, the voters didn’t do a better job of informing during the election on the candidates. There’s a lot of make-believing instead of doing your own due diligence. It’s a shame because we are in very sensitive times where this country’s hanging by a thread.”

The incumbent, Republican Kay Granger of Fort Worth, announced in October that she would not seek reelection. She held the office since 1997. The winner of the primary will face Democratic nominee Trey Hunt, who lost to Granger in 2022.

Donna Korman, 80, of Arlington, was at Goldman’s watch party to show her support.

“He is well suited to the position. He’s better prepared for it,” she said. “He’s got the experience in the Texas House, he knows how to move legislation. He’s got the educational experience. He knows ho the parts fit.”

Fort Worth resident and longtime friend of Goldman’s Ed Dietz, 70, also pointed to the candidate’s experience in the state legislature as reason for his support.

“I liked what he did in our state legislative position, and I think he’ll do a great job for us in D.C.,” Dietz said, adding that he is “very comfortable” with Goldman’s politics.

“He’s the representative that we need D.C.,” said Skylar O’Neal, 37, also of Fort Worth. “We’ll be able to get things done and work with everyone that we need to focus on what’s happening in Fort Worth. He’s someone that can go up to D.C. and make things happen in a way that certain people aren’t willing to get things done today.”

Neither candidate earned more than 50% of the vote during primary Election Day on March 5, but Goldman had a clear lead with 44.38% over O’Shea’s 26.37%.

Both candidates had some heavy hitting endorsements behind them going into Tuesday’s runoff. Goldman, who has served in the Texas state House of Representatives since 2012, had the backing of Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, as well as that of Granger, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and several Texas legislators.

A banker and real estate developer, O’Shea had in his corner Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and conservative lobbyist Roger Stone, among others. Flynn and Stone were both pardoned by former President Donald Trump for crimes stemming from the investigation by Robert Mueller into Russian election interference in the 2016 election.

Goldman was the clear front-runner in the race, considering his primary lead and the power of his strongest endorsements. His win represents a stronghold for the more moderate side of the Republican Party in Texas, said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University.

Had O’Shea won, it would have been “Katy, bar the door for traditional business-friendly Republicans in the primary and runoff season here in Texas,” Jillson said.

“Katy, bar the door,” is an outdated expression that means, “Here come the barbarians,” according to Jillson.

“A number of other MAGA social conservative candidates on the right wing of the Republican Party have defeated incumbents and more moderate candidates,” Jillson said.

One such candidate was Mitch Little, who narrowly won out in the primary for Texas House District 65 over incumbent Kronda Thimesch. Little was backed by Paxton and self-described “Proud Christian nationalist” Steve Bannon, who served as Trump’s top policial adviser during his presidency.

His and a number of other similar victories over more moderate Republicans could have broad effects on state policy.

“That will mean that the Texas House will no longer have a moderate speaker in Speaker [TX Rep. Dade] Phelan, but will likely elect a much more conservative speaker and pass a series of bills,” Jillson said. Such policy will have to do with everything from school vouchers to gun rights to abortion access and allowing only Republicans to vote in Republican primaries, he said.