In the GOP rescue mission for Ted Cruz

Elections

The national party did not expect to have to defend a well-known senator in a conservative bastion.

On July 25, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick came to Washington to make an urgent call to White House officials: Send President Donald Trump.

Patrick, who chaired Trump's 2016 campaign in the state, said a Trump visit was needed to boost Cruz's participation and the rest of the Texas Republican ticket. The lieutenant-governor soon had his wish: Trump announced on Twitter late last month that he was planning an explosion in October for Cruz, his former GOP rival.

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The unreported meeting comes as high-level Republicans worry more and more about the senator's prospects in the state of reliability, with some worried that a lower return may threaten GOP candidates. . The democratic opponent of Cruz, the Rep. Beto O'Rourke, raised liquidity barrels, closed the survey gap and became a well-known Liberal cause across the country.

The Trump rally is only the most public exhibition of a Republican cavalry rushing for help from the senator. Cruz remains a favorite to win a new term, and some GOP officials insist that this concern is exaggerated. Yet the party – which has had a difficult relationship with the anti-constitutional senator of Texas over the years – suddenly leaves little room for chance. Behind the scenes, the White House, party leaders and a group of conservative outside groups have begun to develop a real effort to support Cruz.

Texas Senator John Cornyn, who plans a fundraiser in October for Cruz at Capital Grille in Washington, said he has a simple directive to give GOP donors.

"We are not bluffing, it's real and it's a serious threat," said Cornyn, the No. 2 Senate Republican, in an interview. "If Ted does his job and we do ours, I think everything will be fine. But if we have funders who are on the sidelines thinking that "it's not that bad," or "I do not need to worry," that's a problem.

The surge reflects a wider concern within the party about the electoral environment this fall. This also has practical implications for the GOP: The resources devoted to Cruz include money that could otherwise be used to oust vulnerable Democrats in place in the red states like North Dakota, Indiana, and Missouri.

With O'Rourke over 2-to-1 in the last quarter, right-wing organizations have begun channeling resources to the state. The Anti-Tax Club for Growth, which spent millions on Cruz's offer to the Senate in 2012, launched a seven-digit advertising blitz to demolish the Democratic deputy. The organization began touring the race and David McIntosh, president of the organization, recently traveled to Texas to meet with donors who could help fund the dam. More than 1 million dollars have already been collected, say the group's relatives.

A handful of other well-funded groups plan to join efforts, including Americans backed by Koch-Back for Prosperity, the Mitch McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund, the newly created Senate Reform Fund, and Ending Spending. . by leading GOP financiers, including New York investor Paul Singer. Some of the groups have been in contact with each other as they evaluate their next actions and try to determine how much their help is needed.

"I think there will be a lot of money," said Doug Deason, a Dallas investor and prominent GOP donor who met McIntosh.

Cruz, who aggressively assaulted the evangelicals during his 2016 presidential campaign, is taking steps to arouse the interest of conservative groups. He recently attended a Beltway meeting of the Conservative Action Project, a secret gathering of movement leaders, where he issued a call to arms to prevent a coup of the Democratic state in his state.

They react in kind. On Thursday, the Senate Conservatives Fund sent an email to supporters asking them to fund Cruz. The Family Research Council is planning a multi-stage bus tour in October across Texas. And this week, the Tea Party Patriots should launch a telephone, textual and postal campaign to strengthen the senator.

"Texas is one of our priority states," said Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of Tea Party Patriots. "We want to help Ted Cruz get re-elected to the Senate because he has defended our priorities at Capitol Hill."

The senator, meanwhile, relies on the large network of donors who fueled his presidential candidacy. He spoke to major donors via SMS and recently made contact with Bekah Mercer, the conservative and lonely megadon whose father was the main financier of Cruz's presidential candidacy.

Lee Roy Mitchell, one of the founders of the Cinemark film channel, is among those worried that major donors are not taking the senator's reelection seriously enough.

"We are firmly behind the senator and I would like to think that most Texans are. I think they are, "said Mitchell, an active member of the Dallas-based Koch political network, who, along with his wife, Tandy, donated a million dollars to a super PAC pro-Cruz. "But there is a lot of [Democratic] the money poured here to change people's opinion.

After opposing K Street early in his Senate career, Cruz courted him while he was trying to fill his coffers. Cruz has regularly invited powerful lobbyists to dinner at Capital Grille and other Washington restaurants.

He was frank during sit-ups on the threat he faces to be reelected, those who met him said.

Cruz has completed her calendar with fundraisers, including at least three planned this week. And he turned to Washington veterans like Wayne Berman, who organized several fundraising events for the Texas senator. Berman, who serves on the board of the influential Republican Jewish Coalition, has also turned to potential donors in the pro-Israel and financial industries.

"Cruz has made a concerted effort over the past 18 months to listen and work with many of us in the city," said Scott Reed, chief strategist of the American Chamber of Commerce.

Cruz also turns to an old enemy: Trump.

The senator and the president overcame their vicious rivalry in 2016, when Cruz called Trump "cowardly" and refused to support him on the scene at the Republican National Convention. Trump nicknamed Cruz "Lyin 'Ted" and linked Cruz's father to the assassination of JFK.

Now, Cruz is relying on the president to get voters with the rally scheduled for October. The president's son, Donald Trump Jr., is expected to hold several events for the senator in the Houston area on Oct. 3.

Trump, the aides say, was eager to help. The President personally drafted the tweet in which he announced the rally, which he wrote and which would take place in "the largest stadium in Texas that we could find".

Since the 2016 race, Trump has repeatedly told Cruz that he wants to help him get re-elected. According to party officials, the final plans for the event are still under development.

Those in charge of the administration are among those who have privately expressed their concern about the senator's prospects. These fears broke out over the weekend, when Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, told donors at a meeting of the Republican National Committee that Cruz might lose, a person familiar with them. remarks confirmed. In-camera remarks were first reported by the New York Times.

The sight of national republicans coming to Cruz's defense would have been almost unthinkable a few years ago. After being elected in 2012, Cruz has repeatedly clashed with the GOP leadership – he once spoke in the Senate to call McConnell, the majority leader, a liar. But senior Republicans put all this behind them.

Cornyn, who plans to join Cruz in October, praised his Texas colleague, saying that since the 2016 elections, he was becoming a "team player" who collaborated with others. senators. In 2014, Cruz snubbed Cornyn, refusing to approve the senior senator during his primary election.

"We are all adults and I would like to think we are professionals," said Cornyn in last week's interview. "We understand what is at stake."