Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) will not launch a bid to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), likely clearing the field for another Democratic congressman to take on the first-term Republican incumbent and former presidential candidate, the Washington Post reports.
Poll Suggests Cruz Could Be Vulnerable
A new Texas Lyceum poll finds Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) edging Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in a potential 2018 Senate matchup, 35% to 31%.
In a matchup between Cruz and Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), the two are tied at 30%.
Cruz Builds a War Chest
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “is sitting on a war chest of more than $5 million as he prepares for potentially stiff challenges in both a Republican primary and in the general election,” Politico reports.
“The Texas Republican raised about $1.738 million in the first three months of this year across his Senate reelection campaign, his political action committee and the Ted Cruz Victory Committee. He now has $5.2 million across those three committees, and $4.8 million of that is in his Senate reelection account.”
O’Rourke Will Challenge Cruz
Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), “a Democrat and ex-punk rocker who pulled a stunning upset to win his House seat six years ago, plans to declare his candidacy on Friday for the Senate seat held by Ted Cruz,” the Houston Chronicle reports.
Cruz’s Popularity Plummets In Texas
A new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll finds Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) with a dismal 38% to 39% approval rating.
Among independents, Cruz holds a 20% to 53% approval rating.
Ted Cruz’s Political Operation Seeks a Purpose
Politico: “The ripples are visible across the Republican Party, but nowhere has the shock of Trump’s conquest been felt more acutely than inside the Texas senator’s sprawling electoral enterprise. Having spent the past two years constructing the most sophisticated operation in politics—an outfit that raised more cash than any Republican primary candidate in history—Cruz now has little choice but to garage it. There is no space inside Trump’s GOP for a rival political apparatus of that scale, nor is there money to sustain it.”
“The 125 square-foot office Cruz’s team rented last summer at 300 New Jersey Ave., against a breathtaking backdrop of the Capitol, will soon be vacant. The group will be repurposed to assist Cruz with some issue advocacy, but no longer is it a presidential campaign-in-waiting.”
Cruz May Get An Independent Challenger
Matthew Dowd, a former George W. Bush strategist, is mulling an independent challenge to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the Texas Tribune reports.
Said Dowd: “I am giving it some thought. I haven’t made a decision. I don’t know what I will do. But I am giving it some thought, and I appreciate the interest of folks.”
“The political strategist’s career tells the story of the past three decades of Texas politics. Dowd started in Democratic politics, including as a staffer to the late U.S. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen and the late Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock. But Dowd eventually gravitated to then-Gov. Bush in the late 1990s, working on both of his presidential campaigns and for the Republican National Committee. In 2007, Dowd publicly criticized Bush over the Iraq war.”
Perry Seeks Primary Challenger to Cruz
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry has strongly encouraged Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) to challenge Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) re-election bid in 2018, the Texas Tribune reports.
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“My preference of what’s next for Rick Perry is not to be in the United States Senate.”
— Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), quoted by the Texas Tribune, tamping down speculation he’ll run against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in 2018.
Trump Loyalist Threatens Primary Challenge to Cruz
Ex-Trump adviser Roger Stone suggested that Donald Trump may put his extensive political capital behind boosting a primary challenger to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in 2018, the Huffington Post reports.
Stone harshly criticized Cruz as “an odious, greasy figure who doesn’t have any of Reagan’s warmth or likeability.”
He added: “Conservatives have long memories. So in four years or eight years after the Trump presidency, conservatives will remember that he walked out on us.”
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