Republicans Close Their Eyes, Cringe, and Prepare to Perform C.P.R. on Ted Cruz

But of course, that was before Cruz was up against Beto O'Rourke, who's displayed an uncanny ability both to out-raise Cruz, two to one, and to fuel turnout in greater purple and blue urban and suburban districts. Buoyed by an anticipated Democratic wave, O'Rourke is also charismatic-a quality that even Cruz's Fellow Republicans have admitted may come into play. "There's a real chance we will win a race for a Senate in Florida and a race in Texas for Senate, O.K.?," Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management and Budget The New York Times. "I do not think it's likely, but it's a possibility. How likable is a candidate? That still counts. "

Cruz, naturally, dismissed Mulvaney as "some political guy in Washington." But there are signs that he and his proponents are beginning to panic. "It should be a 10- or 15-point race-it's not. It's a zero-to-4-point race, " Rick Tyler, Cruz's train communications director, said bluntly on MSNBC last Sunday. Even the most begrudging of Cruz's allies appears alarmed. "We're not bluffing, this is real, and it's a serious threat," Texas Senator John Cornyn told Politico. If Ted does his job and we do bear, I think we'll be fine. But if we have people sitting on the sidelines thinking that, 'Well, this is not all that serious,' or, 'I do not need to be concerned,' then that's a problem.