The Club for Growth plans to invest “seven figures” in Texas to defend Sen. Ted Cruz from Rep. Beto O’Rourke, the Democrat waging an unexpectedly vigorous challenge to unseat the Republican incumbent.
A Club spokesman told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that David McIntosh, the group’s president, recently completed a successful fundraising swing through Texas. The conservative advocacy group, a longtime supporter of Cruz, plans to hit the Texas airwaves soon after Labor Day with a major advertising buy aimed at undercutting support for O’Rourke, who is surging in private and public opinion polls.
The Club spokesman declined to elaborate on how much money the group planned to spend on the Texas Senate race beyond describing its investment as “seven figures,” which would mean at least $1 million, but probably more. He said the advertising campaign would paint O’Rourke as a “fraud” who “doesn’t represent people the way he claims.”
The Club for Growth has aggressively supported Cruz since 2012, when he defeated the better-known, better-funded David Dewhurst, then the lieutenant governor, in the Republican Senate primary. Cruz did not have a competitive general election that year, and waltzed to victory after securing the GOP nomination in a summer primary runoff.
That doesn’t look to be the case this year.
O’Rourke has raised more money than Cruz this year, and closed the second quarter fundraising period with $14 million in the bank — $5 million more than the incumbent. That disparity and polling that is too close for comfort in Republican-leaning Texas has pushed Cruz to put out a call for help.
As the Washington Examiner first reported, Cruz is worried that he could be outgunned this fall, and has asked for contributions from fellow Republican senators. He also has tried to enlist the help of big GOP donors in Texas. This week, the Club for Growth answered the call, news that was first reported by Politico.
It’s still unclear how receptive Republican donors and bundlers will be in Texas. Cruz positioned himself as an anti-establishment insurgent on his rise to national prominence and a runner-up finish in the 2016 race for the Republican presidential nomination. It’s unclear if donors, many prominent in establishment circles, are interested in helping him.
Doug Deason, a wealthy Republican donor who is backing Cruz, predicted that the senator would ultimately receive the support he needs to win.
“I’m confident he’ll do well and raise a lot of money,” said Deason, who runs an investment firm in Dallas. “I feel really good about this race.”
O’Rourke’s voting record in the House could be problematic for Texas’ Republican-leaning electorate.
But Cruz has challenges as well. His favorable ratings aren’t where they should be, having never completely recovered from the damage they incurred during the presidential race. And President Trump is a drag on Cruz, and a big boost for O’Rourke, in the state’s heavily populated, major metropolitan suburbs, especially among female voters.
“Everyone thinks all of Texas is like West Texas — cattle farms,” a Republican operative involved in Senate races said. “But half of the population is in two media markets that are dominated completely by suburbs. So where the Republican brand and Trump are down nationally, there is a deep overlay with Texas.”
