Democrats’ excitement has boiled into Texas. The primaries showed that turnout is at its highest level since 2002. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) will have this strong opponent in the 2018 Senate election.
The Democrats have not won a primary in Texas since 2002, but things are looking good for the fall election this year. Many credit opposition to Donald Trump for the rise in Democratic numbers.
More than 700,000 voters came out to support U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke in the primaries. In 2002, one million plus came out for the Democratic primary, according to the Associated Press (AP).
O’Rourke gave up his seat to run, and he will be the underdog in the upcoming election, but people tend to favor the underdog. Unfortunately, the number of Democratic voters is still running far behind the Republican numbers at the voting machines.
The Democratic candidate has been working to meet people in every county in Texas, which has not been done in well over a decade. People notice. Rather than push his party, the former representative has been on a listening tour.
He said that he will not be the big oil representative nor the NRA representative. Instead, he genuinely plans to be the people’s senator.
Although O’Rourke refused to take money from special interests, he out-raised Cruz.
According to the AP:
‘There is at least one Democratic candidate in every congressional district — 36 of them — for the first time since 1992.’
Cruz created a media blitz aimed at O’Rourke. He even paid for a country jingle. The Texas senator sent the jingle out in a tweet, immediately after O’Rourke took the lead to be his opponent in November. The jingle cautions Texans:
‘If you’re going to run in Texas, you can’t be liberal, man.’
The sitting senator’s ad nicknamed O’Rourke “liberal Robert,” claiming he “changed his name to ‘Beto.'” The ad also said:
‘(O’Rourke) wants to take our guns.’
Ironically, Cruz’s full name is “Rafael Edward Cruz’, and he goes by a nickname, too, “Ted.”
O’Rourke’s campaign page explained:
‘Much of Beto’s focus has been on improving the ability for veterans to get the health care — and other earned benefits — that they need. He’s also been focused on curbing the influence of corporate money in Congress. He helped introduce the “No PAC Act,” which would stop candidates for federal office from relying on PACs to bankroll their campaigns…That means jobs for Texans who are ready to work and the education and training to be competitive for them. It means that every one of us is able to get healthy and stay healthy. It means we have access to the providers, medications and help that keep us on our feet and moving forward.’
Conversely, Cruz campaign page wrote:
‘Ted is our advocate in Washington for smaller government, job growth, individual liberty, and our national sovereignty. He is a leading voice for economic policies and regulatory reforms that target job growth. Widely recognized as a bold defender of the Constitution, Ted understands that the freedoms we enjoy must be protected and preserved for future generations. On issues ranging from border security and immigration, to addressing threats from radical Islam or rogue nations like North Korea, Ted has been a resolute defender of our nation.’
Veronica Escobar, who was formerly a county judge, ran for the representative seat O’Rourke left in El Paso and beat out five other contenders.
Featured Image via Getty Images/Mark Wilson.
