Cruz, O’Rourke battle in most expensive race
At $47M, campaign for seat tops all other U.S. Senate contests
The battle in Texas is now the most expensive race for the U.S. Senate in the nation — by a long shot.
Almost $47 million has been amassed by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and his Democratic rival, Rep. Beto O’Rourke — nearly $8 million more than any other U.S. Senate race in the nation and more than double the amount built up in other super competitive races in Missouri, Florida and Indiana. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money in politics, no other race in the nation has seen more than $40 million raised, and only two (Massachusetts and Ohio) have surpassed $30 million.
And the Cruz vs. O’Rourke numbers do not include millions of dollars being amassed by socalled super PACs that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to support or oppose candidates indirectly. For instance, past Cruz donors have helped build up more than $2.7 million in a super PAC called Texans Are.
The battle in Texas is also nearly dead even when it comes to fundraising. Cruz, who is seeking his second six-year term, has raised $23.4 million compared to O’Rourke who has raised $23.3 million.
It makes Cruz the biggest fundraiser of all the Republicans running for the Senate, and O’Rourke ranks No. 2 among Democrats, trailing only U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat frequently mentioned as a presidential contender in 2020 who has raised almost $27 million for her re-election campaign.
Cruz is considered the favorite in the race against O’Rourke, a congressman from El Paso, because of recent Texas history. No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat in the state since former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen left office in 1993, and no El Paso candidate from any party has ever won statewide office in Texas.
While most national political experts believe Cruz will win reelection, there has been some reassessing of the race lately due to O’Rourke’s strong fundraising and recent polls. Nathan Gonzales of Inside Elections earlier this year had Texas considered a “solid” win for Republicans akin to Mississippi, Nebraska and Wyoming. He still says Republicans are favored but lowered Cruz’s odds one rating to “likely/”