So much for the "throw the incumbents out" sentiment.
Every congressional incumbent -- Republican or Democrat -- who drew a challenger in Tuesday's Texas primary was headed to victory last night.
North Texas voters might be angry about what's happening on Capitol Hill, they just aren't angry enough to abandon the familiar names of Reps. Kay Granger, Kenny Marchant and Michael Burgess, at least not in the Republican primary.
Such is the key contradiction that pervades electoral politics today, in this state and perhaps nationwide. Texans have a penchant for railing against the federal government, but they sure like the programs, services and projects that the incumbents bring home, it appears.
Gov. Rick Perry, a nine-year incumbent who'll be facing Democrat and former Houston Mayor Bill White in the November general election, ran hard on an anti-Washington message that effectively kneecapped Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's poorly run bid to come home as their party's nominee.
Debra Medina's sovereignty-and-nullification chant made a difference in the race, but not in the major way that the 20 percent of the voters who cast ballots for her had hoped. She didn't even manage to push the contest into a runoff.
To read the complete editorial, visit www.star-telegram.com.