Pence following Paxton win: GOP ‘lost our way,’ but Democrats ‘have lost their minds’

Former Vice President Pence said Sunday that his party has “lost our way,” but also went after Democrats by saying they “have lost their minds.”

During an interview on “Meet the Press,” NBC News’s Kristen Welker pressed Pence on who he would support in the upcoming U.S. Senate race in Texas, as the controversial Republican nominee, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, is set to face off against the Democratic nominee, Texas state Rep. James Talarico.

While Pence did not directly confirm whether he would vote for Paxton if he could, he did say that he has confidence in Republicans in Texas. He also said he could “never” vote for Talarico if he could vote in Texas.

“Look, I — I think, in many respects, Republicans have lost our way,” Pence said in the interview. “But, Democrats have lost their mind. And I think the reason why we’re going to hold the Senate — and we have a real shot to hold the House — is because of the extremism on the Democratic side.”

“I mean, you literally have candidates, not just the mayor of New York, but some of the most prominent voices in the party that are openly advocating for socialist policies and socialism itself.”

Pence also advised fellow Republicans to not head toward “the populist right” and “protectionism.”

Once President Trump’s vice president, Pence has been on the outs with the president in recent years, as their relationship changed in the wake of the 2020 election. Trump had pushed Pence to object to former President Biden’s victory at the certification of the results on Jan. 6, 2021, the day of the U.S. Capitol riot.

Paxton, who got a last minute endorsement from Trump, defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a Republican runoff for Senate in the Lone Star State last week. The result set up a fiery general election between Paxton and Talarico.