Less Trump, more winning: Why the results of one Republican primary in Texas could give hope to new conservative candidates who don't endlessly venerate the former president

• Morgan Luttrell won the Republican nomination to represent Texas' 8th Congressional District.
• Luttrell didn't embrace Donald Trump as much as his top competitors.
• Strategists say this race sends a message that some districts still want a more moderate, less Trumpy Republican in office.

CONROE, Texas — In Texas's 8th Congressional District north of Houston, Morgan Luttrell secured the Republican nomination to replace Rep. Kevin Brady on Tuesday.

Republicans who aren't unabashed Donald Trump acolytes but still love their party should take notice. 

Luttrell didn't receive an endorsement from Trump, who stayed out of the race. His campaign material makes scant mention of the former president. He solicited (and then returned, under pressure) a contribution from a political committee run by fellow military veteran and anti-Trump Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. And while Luttrell readily embraces many Trump administration policies and legislative sensibilities, he's not one to venerate Trump as many other Republicans do. 

The outcome of this congressional race shows that even though Trump continues to dominate the Republican Party as he plots a potential 2024 presidential comeback, there are still ruby-red congressional districts that, when given a variety of choices in a Republican primary, will bypass a hardcore Trumper for someone else.

In Texas' District 8, 11 Republicans competed to replace Brady, a powerful policy wonk who for several years has been the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees taxation and tariffs.

Voters there easily could have selected a candidate with demonstrated fealty to Trump, either directly or indirectly.

Christian Collins, a former campaign aide for Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, was endorsed by a cast of politicos with close Trump ties: Cruz, House Freedom Caucus members Reps. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, and prominent 2020 presidential election denier and pillow peddler Mike Lindell.

Last month, Collins channeled Trump in calling for a "nationwide audit of the 2020 election" at the "America First Rally," an event in support of Collins' campaign featuring GOP firebrands like Greene, Cawthorne, and Arizona State Sen. Wendy Rogers. He also called for National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci to be jailed for his work during the COVID-19 pandemic, echoing Greene's stance.

He placed second.

Jonathan Hullihan said he was "blessed and honored" to have received the endorsement of Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, a top Trump supporter who the US House in November censured for tweeting an edited anime video depicting him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York with a sword.

He placed third.

Luttrell, a Navy SEAL veteran and brother of fellow veteran Marcus Luttrell, received endorsements from former Texas governor and US energy secretary Rick Perry, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas.

While Perry and Patrick are close to Trump, the Crenshaw endorsement is telling. The Houston-area congressman has notably begun to distance himself from Trump.

Crenshaw has even gone as far to criticize Greene, one of Trump's most high-profile and loyal backers, for comments she has made on COVID-19 testing. Greene is "either a Democrat — or just an idiot," Crenshaw said.

Luttrell often appeals to voters by sounding Trump-like on issues without focusing on Trump, the man. For instance, he has pledged to bolster border security, put "America first," trash"critical race theory," and strengthen cybersecurity. 

Luttrell has also touted issues close to his district, such as securing the southern border of the United States and thwarting people from crossing into the United States from Mexico unlawfully. 

On this issue, Luttrell has focused on the current, not the former president. 

"Maybe if Hunter Biden got a job here in Texas his daddy would do something to fix our immigration crisis," Luttrell tweeted.

Luttrell, who served in the US Navy as a Navy SEAL, also served in the Trump administration as a senior advisor for the Department of Energy, where he was the director of " translational research and applied analytics," according to his Linkedln profile.

Some voters thought Luttrell stood out from his competition because of his career trajectory and experience.

"Some of the people who endorsed him swung me over to his camp along with his military service," said Raymond Hill, a voter in Conroe.

Jeff Reinhardt, a Texas voter, told Insider, that he voted for Luttrell because he figured he "must be more independent-minded and thinks for himself."

Other voters told Insider they thought Collins was only using Republican talking points rather than actually believing in Republican values. 

Ed Schroer, a voter in Conroe, called Collins a "RINO," or a "Republican in name only," who solely desires power.

"All he wants to do is be a Republican name, that's it," Schroer said. 

Brady's open seat race shows a trend with the district

Since 1997, Brady has served as the representative for Texas' 8th District. 

Brady has supported Trump in the past but has shied away from getting involved in the political drama within his party.

Luttrell winning the Republican nomination indicates that voters in this particular district still want a moderate Republican — relatively speaking — representing them, one longtime Texas GOP strategist said.

"Morgan Luttrell has been able to garner a lot of support from all wings of the party, and I think that that's what the district wants for that seat," Nathan McDaniel, a Republican political strategist based in Austin, Texas, told Insider. 

Luttrell did not respond to Insider's multiple requests to comment for this story.

McDaniel pointed to other races where Republican incumbents have lost to more moderate Republican challengers such as the Texas congressional race for district one to replace the open seat for Rep. Louie Gohmert. Smith County Judge Nathaniel Moran, a more moderate Republican than his predecessor, secured the nomination on Tuesday, handily defeating the competition. Moran is a county judge who has campaigned on defending the southern border and protecting the second amendment. 

Moran was seen as more moderate compared to his opponents like Aditya Atholi, a former staffer of Gohmert, who has sworn to stop "fake news" and go on the offense against Big government.

Other GOP strategists argued that the main values and ideals of Republicans have stayed the same for years but the way these candidates are communicating their stances on issues has changed.

Republican candidates are embracing the use of hyperbolic language to replicate Trump's campaign-style in order to court more voters, a longtime GOP strategist, who did not want to provide their full name for fear of retribution, told Insider.

"Candidates up and down the ballot want to continue to rally around those things that have defined the Republican Party for ages. But now, there is a difference in style about how we talk about these things," he said.

Luttrell will face Democratic challenger Laura Jones in the November 8 midterm election.

In 2020, Brady beat his Democratic challenger by 47 percentage points.