Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said Friday he will certainly run for reelection, a decision that could put him on a collision course with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) in 2026,” the Dallas Morning News reports.

Wall Street Journal: “How this plays with voters could be crucial to whether the polarizing lawmaker wins a third term, as Republicans try to take back the Senate, where Democrats currently have a 51-49 majority. Cruz, who leads his Democratic rival, Rep. Colin Allred, in opinion polls, is trying to keep his core conservative base while also bolstering it with suburban swing voters, playing up legislative accomplishments on state issues and a sweeping air-travel bill, among others.”

“It is a tack he hasn’t taken in previous campaigns. Democrats, who have long used Cruz as a hyperpartisan punchline, say the new pitch won’t work.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who has made a name for himself as an uncompromising conservative stalwart, is testing the waters with a rebrand that he works well with Democrats, the Texas Tribune reports.

Said Cruz: “I actually have very good relationships with many of my colleagues across the aisle.”

He specifically cited his work with Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar, noting “all three are friends.”

Fox News: “Cruz’s haul is up from the $4.4 million he raised during the April-June second quarter of fundraising and the $1.8 million he brought in during the first three months of 2023.”

Cruz’s campaign has more than $6.7 million cash on hand.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who was acquitted last week in his historic impeachment trial in the state, took swipes at Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and kept the door open to a possible run for the senator’s seat in 2026, saying “everything’s on the table” at this point, The Hill reports.

Sean Trende: “This may well be another 2018 environment for Cruz. Given the shifts in Texas over the past four years, he seems unlikely to survive such an environment. Regardless, Cruz definitely can win this election.”

“But, unlike most other Texas races, his fate is in many ways out of his hands. There are enough things that could go wrong for him that the race should be considered genuinely competitive at this point.”

“If you’re a Democrat, after Donald Trump, there’s no Republican in the country you want to beat more than me.”

— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), quoted by Politico.

Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D) “entered the state’s US Senate race on Monday, becoming the second high-profile Democrat vying to take on Republican Sen. Ted Cruz next fall,” CNN reports.

“Gutierrez, a long-time state lawmaker from San Antonio, represents a district that includes Uvalde, where a gunman killed 19 elementary school students and two teachers last year, and he referenced the shooting in his announcement.”

Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) raised nearly $6.2 million in roughly the first two months of his campaign against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the Texas Tribune reports.

He also transferred an additional $2.4 million from his House campaign account.

Houston Chronicle: “The Texas Republican is touting past efforts to reach across the aisle to designate new federal highways, invest in space exploration and pass protections for women in military academies.”

A new University of Texas at Tyler poll finds Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) holds a 5-point lead over Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) in the U.S. Senate race, 42% to 37%.

Another 7% said they would support someone else, and 14% said they were unsure.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) confused his potential 2024 challenger, Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), with another black man: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Time: “Despite well over a decade of unfulfilled hopes among Democrats that Texas might finally turn blue, no one who spoke to Time for this story was ready to write the state off as a lost cause.”

“Harvey Kronberg, the publisher of Quorum Report, an insider newsletter on Texas politics, thinks that Democrats’ long history of losses could end with a star candidate who knows how to land jabs at an opponent and use radio and TV to their advantage—areas where he thinks O’Rourke fell short.”

Saiad Kronberg: “I actually think we will see us become authentically purple in the next decade. One statewide win will turn us purple.”

“I took off my jacket and got ready to take on anyone who came through that door. Ted Cruz? He cheered on the mob… then hid in the supply closet.”

— Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), referencing the Capitol riots in his Senate campaign announcement.

Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) launched his campaign for U.S. Senate, saying Texas “can’t afford six more years” of incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the Dallas Morning News reports.

Said Allred: “The political extremism that we are becoming increasingly known for is a real risk to our business community and our path forward. It’s making some folks say they don’t want to send their kids to school in our state. We can go in a different direction.”

The Cook Political Report moves the race from Solid Republican to Likely Republican.

Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) is planning to announce a run against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) as soon as this week, Politico reports.

“A former NFL player-turned-civil rights attorney, Allred has been quietly prepping for a run against Cruz for months. During his two successful reelection bids since ousting an entrenched incumbent in 2018, Allred has proven a prolific fundraiser. He’s well-liked within the Democratic Caucus and has also picked up positions in leadership, now serving as a member of House Minority Whip Katherine Clark’s (D-MA) team and as previously part of then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) expansive leadership team.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “built his reputation as a conservative flamethrower after leading the government shutdown over Obamacare funding in 2013, cultivating that brand during his presidential campaign and beyond over the last decade,” NBC News reports.

“Now, the Texas Republican is seeking to show some bipartisan credentials as he runs for re-election in a state that is becoming more competitive and gave him a scare in his last race.”