Trump’s iron grip on the Republican party has never been stronger. What about the country?

Donald Trump gave it a minute. At 9.01pm it was confirmed that the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton – a hardliner backed by the US president – had triumphed over the incumbent John Cornyn in the state’s Republican primary runoff for the US Senate . By 9.02pm, Trump had started celebrating on social media. “I will do some nice, big, beautiful rallies for Ken,” the president wrote this morning. “Texas, this will be FUN!” But James Talarico also wasted no time. At 9.03pm, Paxton’s Democratic rival for the seat reached out to Cornyn’s supporters. “You have a place in our campaign,” he wrote. Paxton’s clear victory – the widest primary defeat of an incumbent US senator in almost five decades – highlights the extraordinary loyalty Trump continues to command over his base. But Democrats are still optimistic that Paxton’s extremism and scandal-riddled past will bring disenchanted Cornyn voters to their camp. Paxton’s confirmation has bolstered Democratic optimism that the party is in with a shot of winning statewide office in Texas for the first time in more than three decades, with the help of old guard Republicans and Latino voters switching back from the GOP. Those hopes were further validated by a fundraising boost last night. …