A new Quinnipiac poll in Texas finds Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) just ahead of challenger Beto O’Rourke (D), 47% to 44%.
How Beto O’Rourke Built a Fundraising Army
“Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) knew, at the outset, that his campaign to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) would be a long shot. Texas had not voted for a Democratic senator in 25 years, O’Rourke didn’t have statewide name recognition, and, moreover, he was pledging to run without taking money from political action committees—a potentially healthy spigot of campaign funds that he would be foregoing,” the Daily Beast reports.
“To overcome those odds, the Texas Democrat and his top aides placed a major bet on a novel strategy: they would dramatically break down the barriers between candidate and voter. O’Rourke would make heavy use of social media to essentially broadcast otherwise mundane daily functions. And he would treat the often-pesky task of campaign fundraising as an ongoing conversation rather than a plea for cash.”
O’Rourke Raised Staggering Sum Last Quarter
Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) raised over $6.7 million for his U.S. Senate bid in the first quarter of 2018, “a staggering number that poses a new category of threat” to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the Texas Tribune reports.
“The haul is easily O’Rourke’s biggest fundraising quarter yet, more than double his next-closest total for a three-month period. It also is more than any Democratic Senate candidate nationwide took in last quarter, O’Rourke’s campaign said.”
[alert type=”general” dismiss=”no”]And that’s without taking any PAC money.[/alert]
Is O’Rourke Overhyped?
Karl Rove: “Just as the media buildup about Democratic early voting fell short, so did the party’s highly touted U.S. Senate hopeful, Rep. Robert F. ‘Beto’ O’Rourke. National Democrats have hyped the telegenic El Paso congressman as a strong bet to upset Ted Cruz, the state’s junior senator. Mr. O’Rourke spent $4.2 million to win his primary with 62%. But he lost 103 of the state’s 254 counties to Edward Kimbrough, a retired Postal Service employee, who spent $785 and received 15%, and Sema Hernandez, who spent nothing—zero, zip, nada—and still got 24%. (Ms. Hernandez did have a Facebook page.) Mr. Cruz received twice as many votes in his primary as Mr. O’Rourke did in his.”
“It has been 24 years since Democrats won a statewide race in Texas. Absent a major GOP scandal, they’ll continue that losing streak this year as their statewide ticket is lackluster and—with the exception of Mr. O’Rourke—underfunded.”
Cruz Slams O’Rourke for Using a Nickname
Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) re-election campaign released a 60-second radio ad that was a country music jingle prodding O’Rourke for going by “Beto” rather than “Robert,” CNN reports.
Said the song: “Liberal Robert wanted to fit in, so he changed his name to Beto and hid it with a grin.”
O’Rourke responded saying he’s gone by “Beto” since he was born.
[alert type=”general” dismiss=”no”]Of course, Cruz’s real name is Rafael Edward Cruz and he goes by the nickname “Ted.”[/alert]
Democrats See a Chance at Beating Ted Cruz
“Voters in Texas on Tuesday are setting up a showdown that Democrats hope will lead to their first victory in a statewide election there since 1994, with Rep. Beto O’Rourke vying to compete for the Senate seat of Republican Ted Cruz,” the Washington Post reports.
“It’s a daunting task for O’Rourke, 45, a three-term congressman. But there are signs he could at least keep November’s election close, including an impressive early-vote turnout among Democrats for Tuesday’s primaries, robust fundraising reports and polls showing declines in popularity for Cruz and President Trump. Neither O’Rourke nor Cruz is facing serious competition in Tuesday’s primaries.”
O’Rourke Crushes Cruz In Early Fundraising
Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) fundraising lagged far behind challenger Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) during the first six weeks of 2018, the Dallas Morning News reports.
Cruz raised $800,000 through Feb. 14. That’s well below O’Rourke’s $2.3 million haul.
Can Beto O’Rourke Be a Giant Killer?
New York Times: “It has been so bleak for Democrats in Texas that they define victory in terms of the size of their losses. A running joke in Mr. O’Rourke’s speeches is that he has almost convinced his mother, Melissa, a Republican, to vote for him.”
“But there is power in the giant-killer narrative and signs that his anti-campaign playbook campaign is working. He raised $2.4 million in the last quarter, and gets applause when he notes that was $500,000 more than Mr. Cruz took in.”
“He has a restless energy that has put him in 217 of Texas 254 counties, driving tens of thousands of miles, fueled by bad coffee and Hostess cupcakes that supporters bring him.”
O’Rourke Outraises Cruz Again
Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) raised $2.4 million last quarter in his effort to oust Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the Dallas Morning News reports.
“It’s the second time O’Rourke has out-raised the Republican favorite in a single fundraising quarter. Following O’Rourke’s news, the Cruz campaign announced it brought in $1.9 million in the final quarter of 2017.”
Also interesting: “O’Rourke has sworn off the help of political action committees. According to the campaign, more than 70 percent of the last quarter’s donations came from Texas, and none of the funds came from loans.”
Cruz Holds Single-Digit Lead In Texas
A new Public Policy Polling survey finds that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is leading challenger Beto O’Rourke by 8 points, 45% to 37%. Eighteen percent of voters remain undecided.
Cruz Failed to Disclose Loans from Goldman Sachs
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “improperly accounted for loans he received from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. during his 2012 campaign, saying the funds were his own personal contributions to the Senate race,” Bloomberg reports.
“The finding, released on the FEC website, marked a rare instance of agreement among the agency’s five commissioners, who voted unanimously that the $1.1 million of loans from the banks should have been disclosed to voters.”
Castro Will Not Challenge Cruz
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.”
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