Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) made a re-election pitch to supporters by warning Texas is a political litmus test for the United States.
The lawmaker, who is seeking a third term in the Senate in 2024, talked of high stakes in his race during an interview at a diner in North Dallas on Thursday.
“If Texas turns blue, the country’s gone,” Cruz told Fox News Lawrence Jones after a discussion about the border crisis. “We don’t stay up at night wondering what happens with Ohio or Florida if Texas turns blue,” the senator added.
The Democratic primary race to pick a general election challenger in the 2024 Senate race includes Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) and Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who represents a district that contains Uvalde — the town where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school last year.
Among the issues the Democrats are talking about are gun control and abortion.
With control of the Senate at stake, Cruz predicted his 2024 race will be a “real fight,” noting that “Democrats have set their sights on the state of Texas.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) “has made clear that I am the No. 1 target in the country that he wants to take out,” he added.
Cruz ran an unsuccessful campaign for the presidency in the 2016 cycle before winning a second term in the Senate in 2018 against former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), who came within 3 percentage points in a bid spurred by a record $80 million fundraising haul.
“In 2018, it was the most expensive Senate race in U.S. history,” Cruz said. “We were outspent three-to-one. The Democrats flooded tens of millions of dollars into the state of Texas.”
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When it came to turnout, Cruz said Democrats “more than doubled” their numbers from 1.8 million to 4 million, which he said was “unprecedented.” Republicans “leaned in vigorously” and drove GOP turnout from 2.8 million to 4.2 million, he added.
Cruz said his margin of victory in 2018 was 0.2 points, or 200,000 votes, out of more than 8 million cast. “They’re going to spend $100 million [in] the next year trying to flip Texas blue,” he said.
“Democrats have set their bullseye on my race in Texas,” Cruz said as he encouraged people to visit his campaign website and support his re-election effort.
