President Trump will head to Texas in October to campaign for Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a move that highlights how concerned Republicans have become about keeping the seat.
“I will be doing a major rally for Senator Ted Cruz in October. I’m picking the biggest stadium in Texas we can find. As you know, Ted has my complete and total Endorsement. His opponent is a disaster for Texas — weak on Second Amendment, Crime, Borders, Military, and Vets!” the president tweeted Friday.
I will be doing a major rally for Senator Ted Cruz in October. I’m picking the biggest stadium in Texas we can find. As you know, Ted has my complete and total Endorsement. His opponent is a disaster for Texas – weak on Second Amendment, Crime, Borders, Military, and Vets!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 31, 2018
Polls show Cruz in a dead heat against Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke. Emerson College released a poll Monday that pegs Cruz at 38 percent and O’Rourke’s 37 percent among registered voters. Twenty-one percent of registered Texas voters remain undecided, according to the poll, conducted Aug. 22 -25. Other recent polls paint a different picture, but still have Cruz narrowly leading O’Rourke by roughly 4 points.
White House officials briefed reporters on the president’s campaign travel plans earlier in August, and Texas was not among the planned campaign stops. The officials told reporters that Trump plans to visit North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Trump plans to spend at least 40 days on the road between Aug. 1 and Election Day. He is also weighing the possibility of headlining fundraisers in Washington, D.C.
O’Rourke is bringing in unprecedented levels of campaign donations. As the Washington Examiner reported Tuesday, Cruz asked colleagues at a lunch last week in Washington for campaign contributions, underscoring how concerned the Cruz campaign is about O’Rourke’s influx of donations. Cruz has $9 million in cash on hand to spend against O’Rourke, who has $14 million on hand.
The Texas senator spent much of his first term putting himself at odds with the Republican establishment in Washington, which he famously called a “cartel.” After orchestrating a government shutdown in 2014 and interfering with leadership’s plans for years, Cruz has tried to make amends with leadership and major Republican donors, who he also targeted in years past for supporting the establishment.
Cruz and Trump have had a tumultuous relationship at times. The pair exchanged fiery rhetoric on the campaign trail, and the president even gave Trump one of his best-known nicknames, “Lyin’ Ted.”
Cruz told Republican voters at the GOP convention in Cleveland in 2016 to “vote their conscience,” and did not endorse Trump on the stage.
Trump has proven his rallies and support can be a boon to Republican incumbents and candidates in primary races, but his rally for Cruz will be a test. Trump took 52.2 percent of the vote in Texas in 2016, compared to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 43.2 percent.
Republicans have controlled both Senate seats in Texas for 19 years and the governor’s mansion for 18.
