Comment on Donald Trump gives unprecedented boost to Jefferson County Republicans

In a commercial that aired in the waning weeks of the recent election campaign, Jefferson County Republican Party Chair Garrett Peel carefully noted that the presidential race was "interesting" and then, without mentioning Donald Trump, launched straight into the merits of the local GOP and its candidates. [...] though Trump captured traditionally red Texas by fewer votes than any presidential candidate in decades, his straight-talking message of middle-class empowerment might have been the key to the Jefferson County GOP's belated emergence in a region long dominated by Democrats. Trump became the first GOP presidential candidate to carry Democrat-leaning Jefferson County, and Jefferson County Republicans rode the phenomenon. Republican candidates for sheriff and two judicial seats narrowly lost but threatened all Tuesday night to pull off a major upset of the local Democratic establishment. Jefferson County stands in sharp contrast to Texas counties like Bexar, Fort Bend and Harris, where Trump's presence at the top of the ticket adversely affected local Republican candidates. "Unlike the case throughout most of Texas - especially in large urban counties like Harris and Bexar, where Trump represented a drag on the GOP ticket - in Jefferson County, Trump boosted the performance of down-ballot Republicans," said Mark P.