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Eugene Scott
Reporter Covering Identity Policy for The Fix
When the Twitter account of Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) Released last week a clip of his opponent, the Rep. Beto O. Rourke (D-Tex.), Discussing the recent murder of an unarmed black man, the Republican hoped to expose a controversial position of his liberal rival.
The clip featured O & # Rourke in a church addressing a mostly minority audience about the shooting death of 26-year-old Botham Shem Jean, killed earlier this month in his Dallas apartment by Amber Guyger, a policeman.
In the clip, the Democrat said:
How is it that today, in that same year, in this community, a young African American man in his own apartment is killed by a policeman? And when we all want justice, the facts and information make an informed decision, what is made public? That he had a small amount of marijuana in his kitchen. How can this be right in this country? How can we continue to lose the lives of unarmed black men in the hands of white police? This is not justice. It is not us. It can and must change. Are you with me on that?
Throughout O'Rourke's comments, his words were greeted with applause and other affirmations that clearly showed that the people he spoke to had some of the same questions as the legislator about death.
Cruz tweeted the clip preceded by the commentary: "In the words of Beto O'Rourke".
It seems that Cruz does not understand that O'Rourke's remarks sounded deeply with considerable percentages of Texans, especially black voters. And that's why the Congressman launches Cruz with black voters.
According to a Quinnipiac University poll released earlier this month, only 3 percent of black voters support Cruz. And only 5% of black voters said they had a favorable opinion of the senator.
These statistics are not surprising when you consider that black voters are already much more likely to vote for a Democratic candidate. But Cruz's low popularity with black voters appears more important than normal. According to the latest Gallup poll, only 9% of black voters approve of the work of President Trump, former rival of the senator become friend.
But as Cruz embraced some of the most controversial positions of Trump and conservatives about race in America, black and liberal voters rallied behind O'Rourke.
This was not the first time O'Rourke had expressed a vision of the world well received by black voters. In a city in August, he praised the patriotism of NFL players who knelt at the national anthem to protest racism and police brutality in America. He said:
Frankly, they are frustrated by people like me and those in positions of trust and public power who have been unable to solve this problem or bring justice to what has been done and stop it from continuing. in this country.
And non-violently, peacefully, as the eyes of this country are watching these games, they kneel down to draw our attention and attention to this problem to make sure that this problem is solved. That's why they do it. And I do not think of anything more American than to get up or kneel for your rights, at any time, in any place and in any place.
Despite O'Rourke's ability to understand some of the issues that black voters are most concerned about, Cruz still seems to be leading the way for re-election. In part, this is due to the fact that Texas represents only 12% of blacks and two-thirds of white voters, against Cruz. The senator could possibly expand his lead if he took more sympathetic positions in America. Many Black Bible voters, including Texas, are more socially conservative than all Black voters and could be persuaded to support a deeply religious candidate who more clearly denounces racism in America. But no one knows Cruz's background on race issues. This type of pivot should be expected, especially in the current political climate where the Republican Party's worldview is dominated by Trumpism and its views on race.
But even if Cruz is re-elected, he has work to do if he wants to prove to Black Texans that he can represent their best interests in Washington. Race relations remain a major problem for black voters in Texas and beyond. And for many black residents of his state, Cruz has not done much to show that addressing their concerns is a priority for him, whether he wins or not.
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