Cruz launches group to entice disgruntled Democrats to vote for him
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign is rolling out a new effort encouraging Democrats to cross party lines and vote for him this November after U.S. Rep. Colin Allred officially secured the Democratic nomination for Senate on Tuesday night.
The coalition, called Democrats for Cruz, will attempt to entice people on the left side of the aisle who are unhappy with the party’s current leadership. It’s a marked change for Cruz, who has spent the vast majority of his political career as a GOP firebrand unwilling to court Democrats.
But with a competitive and likely expensive race ahead, Cruz is striking a new, bipartisan tone. The coalition’s initial rollout features a handful of former and current Democratic officials, including former Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz Jr., Presidio County Sheriff Danny Dominguez and former Obama appointee Marty Mcvey of Houston. Cruz said he hopes to expand the group as he campaigns over the next several months.
“These Texans know that today’s Democrat Party is not what it used to be,” Cruz said. “They understand that electing a radical leftist like Colin Allred would be catastrophic to our state and nation, because this race is not about Republican or Democrat. It is about making sure that we keep Texas, Texas, no matter what it takes. As Texas goes, so goes the nation.”
Bipartisanship has been the foundation of Allred’s pitch for the Senate. The two-term U.S. representative from Dallas blew past eight competitors Tuesday — including some with more progressive views than him — to secure the nomination.
“Ted Cruz has had 12 years of pitting us against each other,” Allred said as he declared victory. “It’s time we had a senator who will bring us together. I’ll be that senator.”
Cruz, who has served two terms as Texas’ junior senator, is viewed as one of the only potentially vulnerable Republicans in the Senate. During Cruz’s last reelection bid in 2018, Democrat Beto O’rourke came within 3 points of unseating him.
Turnout in South Texas, long a Democratic stronghold, likely will be crucial to either candidate’s victory. Republicans have launched massive efforts to flip the region red in recent years, especially because Democrats there tend to be more moderate, and border security is Republicans’ top campaign issue heading into November.
The launch of Democrats for Cruz is accompanied by a short video featuring testimonials from Democratic voters who say they’re crossing the aisle this November. The video will run as a six-figure digital ad in “key Texas counties,” but the Cruz campaign declined to specify which ones.