Cruz, O’Rourke on a collision course for U.S. Senate
GOP incumbent, Democratic rival easily win primaries
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Democrat Beto O’Rourke were easily beating their respective primary opponents on Tuesday, sending them on their way to their highly anticipated general election battle in November.
Cruz, in his first election since losing the Republican nomination for president, defeated Christian TV executive Bruce Jacobson Jr., Houston energy attorney Stefano de Stefano, Austin accountant Mary Ann Miller, and former La Marque Mayor Geraldine Sam.
Meanwhile, O’Rourke, an El Paso Democrat, making his first statewide run for office had no trouble beating out retired Houston postal worker Edward Kimbrough and Pasadena insurance agent Sema Hernandez.
Cruz, talking to Texas reporters Tuesday night, wasted no time in defining O’Rourke.
“Tonight’s election marks the beginning of the general election in November, and the voters of Texas will have a clear and stark choice for the United States Senate,” he said. “Congressman O’Rourke is a left wing, liberal Democrat. He is running like Bernie Sanders across the state.”
Cruz emphasized their clear differences on gun control and immigration, portraying O’Rourke as out of touch with “Texas values.”
Cruz acknowledged that O’Rourke has benefited from a surge of Democratic energy under President Donald Trump.
“We will see, as a result, very large turnout from the far left in November, just as we have seen very high Democratic turnout in the early vote,” he said. “But the good news is there are more conservatives than there are liberals in Texas, and if conservatives show up and vote…Texas will remain reliably red.”
O’Rourke, in an interview, declined to characterize the race in ideological terms.
“This campaign is not ideological,” he said. “It’s definitely not partisan. It’s solely focused on the interests and aspirations of the people I want to represent in Texas.”
O’Rourke also rejected the idea that his race is being fueled by anti-Trump rage.
“Come to any town hall meeting we’re having,” he said. “There’s very little rage. There’s almost no mention of Trump, or Cruz, for that matter. It’s about the things we want to do.”
O’Rourke’s sharpest attacks center on his contention that Cruz, a 2016 candidate for president, has not focused on Texas.
“The biggest laugh line I get is any town hall is asking when the last time Ted Cruz showed up for a town hall,” he said.
No Democrat has won a seat in the U.S. Senate since 1992, but O’Rourke has drawn national attention by out fundraising Cruz for most of the last year and sparking a loyal following as he crisscrosses the state, often livestreaming the events on social media platforms.
O’Rourke has heavily outraised Cruz since the start of 2018, according to the latest campaign reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Cruz raised just $711,000 since the start of the year. O’Rourke has raised $2.2 million during the same period. Overall, Cruz still has more money in his campaign account than O’Rourke. O’Rourke had about $5 million in his main campaign account, while Cruz has about $6 million.