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Over the past 18 months, the GOP has largely rejected the idea that the representative of Beto O'Rourke (D-TX) could pose a real threat to the re-elected candidate of Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) in 2018. But only eight weeks before election day, the long-standing notion that a Democrat can not win the state in Texas seems more and more out of date. Polls continued to tighten, alarming high-level Republicans and improving the long-term chances that Democrats will be able to resume the Senate in November.
The Cruz campaign did not respond to Rolling stoneThe request for comments on recent developments, but during a campaign stoppage over the weekend, Cruz warned Texas voters on the prospect of an O'Rourke victory. "They want us to be like California – up to tofu, silicon and dyed hair," he said at an audience in Katy, Texas.
Ted Cruz was really on a tonight pic.twitter.com/ZHadFNEvnn
– Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 9, 2018
Monday, CNN changed his scoring from the "Republican Likely" race to "Republican Lean." This followed a similar update by Cook's political report in August, reflecting the belief that the race is more competitive than we thought.
On Sunday, Rick Tyler, former spokesperson for Cruz's campaign, told MSNBC there was a very real possibility that O'Rourke could win. "It's possible – people say no, it's not possible because you still look at Texas and you say," It's a red state and it's never going to happen. " But Beto O 'Rourke has always underestimated it … does not take money cap. "
The panic seems to have spread in the front ranks of the Republican Party, with a senior official who regrets privately that Cruz is not "friendly enough" to keep his seat in the Senate. Office of the Director of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney made the remark at an event for GOP donors in New York on Saturday, according to a New York Times report.
Mulvaney's comments came just days after another well-known Republican, this one in Congress, expressed his concern that the excitement of running in the Senate risked jeopardizing the candidates. Republicans in clashes. "It could have an impact – where the races are tighter – to have a more aggressive democratic participation rate than it would have been if we had not had this competitive race with Beto and Ted," said Mike Conaway (R-TX). ) told the Midland Reporter-Telegram. "He's going to 254 counties and all that stuff."
The biggest indication that Republicans are starting to sweat O 'Rourke is the commitment that President Trump recently made on Twitter to campaign for the man he nicknamed "Lyin" Ted. Trump, who remains optimistic about the GOP's chances in the mid-term elections, tweeted"I choose the biggest stadium in Texas we can find. As you know, Ted has my complete and complete endorsement. His opponent is a disaster for Texas – weak on the second amendment, crime, borders, military and veterinarians! "Cruz enthusiastically accepted the offer of the man who suggested that his father plotted to kill JFK.
(Shortly after Trump's announcement, Houston-based activist raises $ 9,760 in online donationsmoney that will be used to rent a truck to travel through Texas with billboards featuring a selection of less glamorous tweets from Trump on Cruz.)
O'Rourke correctly interpreted Trump's tweet as a sign that Cruz – and Republicans in general – are worried. "I take this as an indication that we are competing in this race," O'Rourke told a scrum of reporters that day. "Without CAPs, corporations, special interests, we, Texas, are doing something extraordinary, and we will do it against all odds, even if the President of the United States comes to campaign against us."
Up to now, outside groups favorable to Cruz have poured more than 1 million dollars in the Texas race as they fight to defend a once safe seat. Meanwhile, O'Rourke's campaign defeated Cruz in five of the five cycles, successfully hoarding a war chest that competes with former presidential candidates while vowing CAP contributions. Both candidates collected about 23 million dollars in total, but as of the date of the last report, Cruz's campaign spent $ 5 million more than O'Rourke's.
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