I’m Henry Cuellar: This is why I want Texas’ vote in the midterm election to go the other way.
The Senate race between incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz and his Democratic challenger is shaping up to be a make-or-break battle. Cruz has the majority, and this is a clear path toward keeping his seat in the Senate.
He and his Democratic opponent Beto O’Rourke are both strong national figures. Cruz in particular has been a national figure in the last 20 years because he’s been a fighter on the right against the Washington establishment. He’s the only Senate Republican who believes that voters in red states can have a say in whether or not their states are governed by them. It’s a message that’s resonated with conservative voters.
The main difference between Cruz and O’Rourke is that Cruz has a proven track-record as a dealmaker on Capitol Hill, as well as a record of fiscal realism. He’s voted for tax increases on the wealthy, not for spending reductions, which is why Republicans control the Senate.
But while O’Rourke has been a more popular figure across the country, Cruz has won more support from conservative voters in Texas. I’m Henry Cuellar from The Texas Tribune, and I want to explain why I think the Senate race is far bigger than Cruz vs. O’Rourke.
Texas has gone blue in every presidential election since 1976. The only thing that really has changed over that time is the growth of the Hispanic population. And the demographics that have changed have been much in favor of Republicans. For decades now, there’s been a huge concentration of non-white Texans in the state. They’ve become an overwhelming majority of the state population.
The Democrats lost their majority in the state House in 2018, and the Republicans were able to win back the majority in a special election this past November. And they have a large majority in the