"I love him so much I can hardly explain it." -- Televangelist and Trump adviser James Robison
News item: Entire fleet of F35s grounded
Cruz challenges O’Rourke to let him debate him at CNN Town Hall in McAllen. Says O’Rourke is hiding. But “Beto doesn’t get to hide in the protective cocoon of the media,” Cruz says #TXSen #txlege @tedcruz @BetoORourke pic.twitter.com/FWj0LU3vlB— Bob Garrett (@RobertTGarrett) October 12, 2018
"Every left-wing radical in the country wants to turn Texas blue — and they are sending their money to Comrade Beto," @TedCruz says. #txsen— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) October 12, 2018
At Houston rally, @TedCruz refers to @MichaelAvenatti, "who I think right now is the presumptive Democratic nominee in 2020"— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) October 12, 2018
Harold Cook, a Democratic strategist in Texas, said the reality at the moment is that "two candidates are defining Beto, and only one candidate is defining Cruz." He said O'Rourke is "going to have to present a compelling reason why voters should fire their incumbent."
"Against a candidate like Cruz, I don't think it's even that tough and it doesn't take that long," he said, pointing out that Cruz's hardline approach has rankled some Texans. "But it's time to do it."
Miller, the GOP consultant, agreed that "if you want to bring Ted Cruz back to Earth, you're going to have to go after him."
He said he didn't know if that tactic would ultimately succeed, given that time is starting to run short to make a real difference. But he made clear that if O'Rourke doesn't put his money into a "real aggressive, kind of mean campaign," then the "race is lost."
O’Rourke in campaign appearance after campaign appearance and in interview after interview since entering the race in March 2017 has said repeatedly “I’m not running against anyone” as a way of telling voters he prefers the high road.But it also reinforces an image that Texas Democrats of the past two decades can’t seem to shake: They seem to prefer losing honorably to getting their hands soiled in a winning effort.
Hispanic voters in @QuinnipiacPoll:@BetoORourke 61, @tedcruz 37@LupeValdez 50, @GovAbbott 46#txsen #txgov #tx2018 https://t.co/IBl2pXzI41— Evan Smith (@evanasmith) October 11, 2018
Brandon Rottinghaus, political science professor at the University of Houston, says the Kavanaugh confirmation fight has probably hardened the already deep divisions between Democrats and Republicans.
“That hardening is really translating into what we see in the Senate race in particular,” Rottinghaus says. “I think that right now, Ted Cruz has got a slight lead, and the likelihood is that’s going to continue.”
GOP incumbent John Culberson and Democratic challenger Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, candidates for Houston's 7th Congressional District, will debate on Monday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. at the University of Houston's Student Center Theatre.
The race has escalated into a slew of personal attacks over health care issues, a potentially decisive issue in the race. The Cook Political Report considers the race a toss-up. The event will be streamed online at abc13.com and Univision.
New: #TX07 campaigns working to reschedule Monday debate after @JohnCulberson spent 10 days in hospital following surgery for complicated diverticulitis. Letter today from Culberson campaign to @Lizzie4Congress campaign: https://t.co/dnqx7DOo9U
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) October 11, 2018
.@CNN announces new details re: Oct. 18 town hall with @BetoORourke: 9 p.m., McAllen Performing Arts Center, moderated by @DanaBashCNN. News release says @TedCruz "declined CNN’s invitation to participate in the town hall." #txsen #RGV— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) October 9, 2018
“Nobody seriously thinks that we’re going to put a wall across every single inch,” Xxxxxxx said. “It’s just a geographic impossibility. ... ”
“Government should be staying out of the doctor’s office,” Xxxxxxxx said. “We don’t want government in the doctor’s office telling women, or anybody, what they can and should do ...”
In past cycles, such a contest in Texas’ 2nd Congressional District wouldn’t even be close. Poe regularly won reelection by double digits. But in 2018?
“It is competitive, I think,” says David Branham, a professor of political science UH-Downtown who attended the debate. “You have to do well if you’re a Republican if you expect to win. If you run poorly, I think there’s a very good chance that you could lose this district.”
The district includes wealthy, conservative suburbs in northeastern Harris County, like Kingwood. It also has more liberal Houston neighborhoods, like Montrose.
“But in that center part, where it connects in the northwest side, I think you’re going to see a lot of change in that part of the district,” Branham says. That’s because the district’s demographics are changing. Hispanic residents now make up about a third of the population, and that percentage is growing.
This is also an area hit especially hard during Harvey. Rice University political scientist Bob Stein says Litton has been aggressive in courting the votes of flood victims.
“I’ve seen some of his public meetings where he goes around telling people, ‘Have you gotten your small business loan application in? Have you gotten your FEMA money in?’ He’s sort of kind of replacing, ′cause there’s no incumbent here, what Ted Poe would normally do as a congressman,” Stein says.
Crenshaw certainly hasn’t ignored the issue of Harvey. During his debate with Litton, Crenshaw said he’d seek a seat on the House Armed Services Committee, where he could pressure the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete flood infrastructure projects. But that’s not the central message of his campaign.
“The campaign has played up, ‘I’m a Republican, I support the party, and I support Donald Trump,’” Stein says. “That may be enough, but it’s not enough, I think, to kind of inspire what I will call a heavy turnout in the district.”
Even with a lower than usual turnout, Stein says Republicans probably hold the edge for now, “but nobody’s putting a lot of investment in the future. Nobody thinks this district is going to be here in 2022.”
Why? In between now and 2022 is the next census. “We’re going to get three new congressional seats in Texas, and they’re going to have to go somewhere,” Stein says.
It will most likely be Republicans who will decide where those seats go during the next round of redistricting. But in drawing safe GOP seats, they’ll still have to work around growing minority populations that are more likely to vote Democratic.
“The configurations will be to protect longer-term (Congressional) veterans,” Stein says. “If Crenshaw wins this time, he’s not high on the seniority list.” Which means that Crenshaw needs to do more than just win this November if he’s hoping to last in Congress. He needs to win big.
In new @CBSNews poll, @tedcruz viewed as more honest and trustworthy and more relatable than @BetoORourke https://t.co/KJl3xdFk3B #txsen #tx2018 pic.twitter.com/CUVnvO9BnK— Evan Smith (@evanasmith) October 7, 2018