Brandon Rottinghaus

There was a time when scandal was a death knell for a political career.

But Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston, says these days some politicians are more likely to lean into a scandal.

He says the strategy leverages a deep distrust in the media and a hyperpolarized environment where partisanship outweighs everything else.

Barbara Sprunt, NPR News, Washington.

There was a time when scandal was a death knell for a political career.

But Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston, says these days some politicians are more likely to lean into a scandal.

He says the strategy leverages a deep distrust in the media and a hyper-polarized environment where partisanship outweighs everything else.

Barbara Sprunt, NPR News, Washington.

This is really the end of the Bush era of the Republican model.

Cornyn symbolized the traditional...

Texas GOP that had come to power in the early 1990s and had been so successful for decades.

That business-oriented, institutional conservative that has a pragmatic streak was effectively defeated last night by Ken Paxton, but also as a proxy by Donald Trump.

Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, says this is part of a bigger national struggle.

The MAGA movement grew the party more than a decade ago.

Now the question is, is the party's tent shrinking over Trump administration policies and its falling poll numbers?