Houston Chronicle By Jeremy Wallace 9/21/2018
Democrat Beto O’Rourke has stressed that he is not running against any person or party, but during his first debate with Sen. Ted Cruz, the El Paso Congressman got aggressive, painting Cruz as hyper-partisan and forcefully going after Cruz’s spotty attendance record in the Senate.
“In 2016, he missed one-half of the votes in the United States Senate,†O’Rourke, 45, said. “Could you tell me who can miss half the days at work and then be re-hired for the same job going forward?â€
Cruz, a 47-year-old former college debate champion who has been in 20 national debates, was quick to respond.
“Congressman O’Rourke doesn’t seem to understand that representing Texas is not doing a photo op in each county in Texas with reporters in tow,†Cruz said. “But it’s actually standing up and fighting for the people of Texas. And I can tell you in the 6 years I’ve represented Texas, I have been there on the ground.â€
During the chemical explosion in West, the mass shootings at Sante Fe High School and a church in Sutherland Springs, and after Hurricane Harvey swamped Houston, Cruz said he’s been on the ground early, doing his job.
For 60 minutes, the two candidates traded blows on issues including immigration, gun control and whether NFL players should stand for the national anthem.
The debate comes at a time where the race between the two appears to be tightening. A half dozen polls released over the last month all show the race in the single digits, though most show Cruz with a lead. Just Friday, the Cook Political Report in Washington, D.C. declared the race a toss-up, a designation no Texas Senate race has seen in four decades.
Texas has not had a U.S. Senate race decided by less than 5 percentage points since 1978 when Sen. John Tower, a Republican, beat then-Democratic Congressman Robert Krueger by less than 1 percent of the vote.
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https://www.chron.com/news/politics/texas/article/Ted-Cruz-and-Beto-O-Rourke-take-plenty-of-shots-13249165.php