Proxy War: The U.S. Senate Race in Texas and President Trump
Ted Cruz versus Beto O’Rourke may be the most anticipated Texas race on the November ballot, but June’s state party conventions were all about Donald Trump.
By
R.G. Ratcliffe
Issue
August 2018
The line of delegates waiting for a photo with Ted Cruz was so long it seemed as if everyone at the Republican state convention, in San Antonio, was hoping for a bit of selfie stardom. The state’s junior senator stood in front of a barnlike wooden wall that featured a stonewashed Texas flag, a lariat, and a wagon wheel. Cruz wore black ostrich cowboy boots, a dark blue suit, and a purple tie—an unintended omen that underscored his opponent’s hopes that this year’s election may not be as “Republican red†as in the past. As thirty minutes turned into an hour, Cruz’s pollster, Chris Wilson, told me that he had begun to worry about the candidate’s feet swelling ahead of a charity one-on-one basketball game against TV host Jimmy Kimmel scheduled for that evening. (Cruz won.) The line kept coming, as did the compliments on Cruz’s service as senator.
Before the photo op, in a speech to nearly 10,000 of the party faithful, Cruz had extolled the virtues of tax cuts, conservative judicial appointments, and economic growth—all the while pledging his support for former rival Donald Trump.
“This election is a battle for the direction of this country,†Cruz declared. If the Democrats win Congress, he warned, and if his opponent, El Paso congressman Beto O’Rourke, wins in November, the end result will be Trump’s impeachment. Cruz sounded an unusual air of concern about O’Rourke’s prospects. “He is raising more money than any Democrat in the entire country,†said Cruz, referring to the fact that O’Rourke had raised $6.7 million during the first quarter (more than twice as much as Cruz’s campaign). “The hard left is angry. They’re energized.â€
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https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/proxy-war-u-s-senate-race-texas-president-trump/
