| | In his bid for a second term in the Senate Cruz faces the Democrat U.S. Representative [[Beto O'Rourke]] of [[El Paso]] in the November 6 general election. In the primary held on March 6, 2018, Cruz defeated four weak intra-party opponents. He polled 1,317,450 votes (85.3 percent). In the Democratic primary, O'Rourke received 641,337 votes (61.8 percent). Some 506,000 more Republicans voted in the Texas primary than did Democrats. The liberal O'Rourke, who unlike Cruz is not Hispanic, is believed to be a potentially strong opponent because of favorable media coverage, strong fund-raising, large crowds at campaign rallies, and respectable opinion polling. O'Rourke is said to resemble "a Kennedy," referring to the popular [[Massachusetts]] family of politicians. In July, the magazine ''Politico'' declared that "Beto-mania" was sweeping Texas, an early warning to Senator Cruz that he could yet be unseated in November in a "blue wave" across the Lone Star State.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/07/09/beto-mania-sweeps-texas-218961|title=Beto-mania Sweeps Texas|publisher=''Politico'' magazine|date=July 9, 2018|author=Ben Schreckinger|accessdate=July 13, 2018}}</ref> | | In his bid for a second term in the Senate Cruz faces the Democrat U.S. Representative [[Beto O'Rourke]] of [[El Paso]] in the November 6 general election. In the primary held on March 6, 2018, Cruz defeated four weak intra-party opponents. He polled 1,317,450 votes (85.3 percent). In the Democratic primary, O'Rourke received 641,337 votes (61.8 percent). Some 506,000 more Republicans voted in the Texas primary than did Democrats. The liberal O'Rourke, who unlike Cruz is not Hispanic, is believed to be a potentially strong opponent because of favorable media coverage, strong fund-raising, large crowds at campaign rallies, and respectable opinion polling. O'Rourke is said to resemble "a Kennedy," referring to the popular [[Massachusetts]] family of politicians. In July, the magazine ''Politico'' declared that "Beto-mania" was sweeping Texas, an early warning to Senator Cruz that he could yet be unseated in November in a "blue wave" across the Lone Star State.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/07/09/beto-mania-sweeps-texas-218961|title=Beto-mania Sweeps Texas|publisher=''Politico'' magazine|date=July 9, 2018|author=Ben Schreckinger|accessdate=July 13, 2018}}</ref> |
| | + | If O'Rourke is allowed to make this race about personality and showing up all over, Cruz will lose. Yes, he needs more money, but first, the fighter Ted Cruz needs to re-emerge now.<ref>''Texas Conservative Review'', Vol. XVII No. 20, August 24, 2018.</ref></blockquote> |