Democrats in Texas are pushing forward with their latest effort to oust Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) from office next year, announcing a new opposition research and mobilization campaign on Thursday designed to defeat the two-term incumbent.
The Beat Cruz War Room will include a team of political strategists and researchers tasked with compiling opposition research to “ensure that Ted Cruz loses in 2024,” according to the group. The team will also be responsible for tracking other candidates in the race as well as developing strategic bilingual messaging to reach all voters across the Lone Star State.
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“From voting to deny injured Texas veterans of desperately-needed healthcare, to voting against infrastructure funds for our state, to fleeing the state for a Cancun beach resort during the 2021 winter freeze that killed hundreds of his constituents — Texans have had enough of Ted Cruz’s bulls***,” Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, said in a statement. “We’re proud to launch the Beat Cruz War Room to keep constant tabs on Senator Cruz — on the airwaves, on social media, in public records, and on the campaign trail — so we can make sure Texas voters know the fraudulent clown they have ‘representing’ them in Washington.”
The group describes itself as the only “zero-profit effort” to dismantle Cruz’s campaign, citing its status through the state’s Democratic Party that will allow members to coordinate with the eventual Democratic nominee directly.
“No matter who our nominee ends up being, with the help of the Beat Cruz War Room, we’re going to send Ted Cruz packing — back to his preferred Cancun resort, his plush podcast studio, campaigning for other far-right extremists in random states, or wherever the hell else he currently goes from 9 to 5 when he’s supposed to be working for us,” Hinojosa said. “We cannot continue to leave vacant a seat meant to diligently represent 30 million hardworking Texans.”
The Beat Cruz War Room joins other recent efforts to oust Cruz from office, following the creation of the Lose Cruz PAC that debuted in mid-June as a way to seize on Cruz’s low approval ratings and flip the Texas Senate seat blue for the first time since 1993.
The efforts come after Cruz narrowly won reelection in 2018 after defeating Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke by only 3 percentage points, with outside groups hoping to seize on recent controversies to boost his opponents.
There are already a handful of Democrats eyeing the change to challenge Cruz, including Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) and state Rep. Roland Gutierrez.
Cruz’s race is considered to be one of the more competitive races heading into the 2024 cycle, with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rating it as “likely Republican” — making it only one of two seats currently held by a Republican to be placed in that category. However, the Texas Republican is considered to be one of the more vulnerable incumbents due to a string of recent controversies during his term.
Cruz recently faced backlash for his response to a mass shooting at a Texas shopping mall earlier this year when the senator extended prayers for the victims’ families and surrounding community. The comments sparked criticism from gun safety advocates who called on Cruz to push for stricter gun control measures rather than expressing sympathy.
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Cruz also attracted a high-profile scandal in 2021 when the Texas senator left on a tropical vacation to Cancun while his state dealt with severe power outages due to a winter storm. However, the incumbent still benefits from widespread name recognition and a strong Republican base throughout the state.
Cruz’s race is one of eight Senate seats Republicans must seek to defend in 2024 compared to 23 for Democrats, putting the GOP in a good position to seize control of the upper chamber. Democrats hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate, with the advantage of having Vice President Kamala Harris as a tiebreaker vote if needed.
