AUSTIN — Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has a lengthy incumbency, a personal fortune, a conservative record and friendships with the rich and powerful. But he may lack the one thing he needs most to save his political career: the love of the Republican primary voter.
Although the incumbent advanced to a runoff, he finished a distant second to state Sen. Dan Patrick Tuesday in one of the most contentious races of the nation’s first primary of the year. Dewhurst blamed the setback on the rain, which depressed turnout.