Republican Sen. Ted Cruz used a lighthearted moment at the conclusion of an otherwise strong debate performance Friday in Dallas to sneak a partisan shot at his Democratic challenger, Rep. Beto O’Rourke — a revealing vignette in this captivating midterm election campaign.
The two moderators closed the first Texas Senate debate with a request that each say something nice about the other after an hour of sparring about President Trump, healthcare, trade, guns, immigration, and more. The more likable O’Rourke, on the defensive on key issues, commended the senator for his commitment to public service and doing what he believes is right, amid personal sacrifices to himself and his family. Cruz responded in kind, but added a sharp political jab.
“Last year I did three debates with Bernie Sanders and I expressed this at all three debates — that Bernie Sanders believes in what he’s fighting for, he believes in socialism. Now, I think what he’s fighting for doesn’t work. But I think you are absolutely sincere, like Bernie, that you believe in expanding government and higher taxes,” Cruz said, comparing O’Rourke to the socialist icon and independent senator from Vermont.
“True to form,” mocked O’Rourke in a swift, short reply.
The competitive Texas Senate race, a surprise that is attracting eyeballs across the nation, is a battle between O’Rourke’s youthful charisma and Cruz’s conservative politics.
O’Rourke, unabashedly liberal, has no business ousting the incumbent in Republican-leaning Texas — and he won’t if the race is about issues. But Cruz’s image never recovered after his runner-up bid for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, and Texas voters just don’t like him all that much. If the race is fought on that terrain, O’Rourke, bolstered by the tens of millions he’s raising from small donors, has a chance to pull off an upset.
This dynamic set the contours of a fast-paced debate, with Cruz cornering O’Rourke on uncomfortable issues and the congressman casting the senator as consumed by naked political ambition.
Early on, Cruz nailed O’Rourke on gun rights, charging the Democrat would support the confirmation of progressive federal judges who would gut the Second Amendment, leading the congressman to protest: “I fully support the Second Amendment.”
“We have a real race in the state of Texas. The hard Left is energized, they’re angry; many of them are filled with hatred for President Trump. And we are seeing tens of millions of dollars flow in from all over the country to congressman O’Rourke’s campaign, and the reason is simple … He takes extreme, left-wing positions,” Cruz added later, responding to a question about which candidate best represents Texas values. “Congressman O’Rourke’s positions are out of step with the people of Texas.”
O’Rourke countered with a shot to Cruz’s soft underbelly: He spent the first four years of his first Senate term cultivating a national profile and running for president, only to scramble to reinvent himself as a local politician focused on Texas issues after coming up short to Trump.
“Only one of us has been to each county in Texas and would have an idea of what Texas values are,” O’Rourke said. “Within months of being sworn in to serve as your senator, Ted Cruz was not in Texas, he was in Iowa. He visited every single one of the 99 counties of Iowa — he went to New Hampshire, he went to South Carolina, he went to the Republican presidential primary states instead of being here.”
