Big News In Texas

Posted By: U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, Chairman

I have some very important news about the Republican primary race for U.S. Senate in Texas.

As you know, the Senate Conservatives Fund has endorsed Ted Cruz, the former Solicitor General of Texas. He is running against Lt. Governor David Dewhurst who is almost universally known throughout the state and has pockets deep enough to self-fund his entire campaign. There is no question that conservatives have an uphill climb in this race.

But a new poll released yesterday indicates that we're making real progress. The survey conducted by the Texas Tribune and the University of Texas shows Dewhurst at 22% and Cruz at 10%.

This is very good news for two reasons: Cruz's support has more than doubled in the past few months and Dewhurst's support has dropped by half. Earlier this year, Dewhurst had a massive 30-point lead. Now, this a 12-point race.

In fact, University of Texas pollster Daron Shaw said, "Those who thought Cruz was using the Senate race as a proving ground, they may want to think again — I think it’s going to be a horse race."

The Cruz surge is beginning to make liberals very uncomfortable.

In the past two weeks, he has been the target of bogus biographical attacks similar to the ones leveled by the Washington Post against U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL). Like Rubio, Cruz's father fled Cuba to escape oppression. You see, liberals are extremely threatened by Hispanic conservatives who don't share their philosophy of government dependency.

Winning this race remains a tremendous challenge. Not only is Ted Cruz up against the liberal media and a well-funded opponent, he is still relatively unknown in Texas. Also, David Dewhurst — his chief opponent in the primary — is ducking candidate forums and other public appearances, which makes it difficult for the voters to compare and contrast their views and records.

Ted Cruz recently invited Dewhurst to participate in a series of Lincoln-Douglas style debates, but so far the Lt. Governor has not agreed. He's probably being advised to avoid these debates, but he's running for the United States Senate and owes it to the voters in Texas to discuss the issues in an open way.

Finally, I want to thank each of you for investing your time and resources in this critical race. Because of your generous support, SCF has now invested over $280,000 in Cruz's campaign. This includes the funds our members donated directly to his campaign as well as the independent expenditures SCF has made supporting him.

Thank you for being part of the Senate Conservatives Fund team. We live in the greatest country in the world and your efforts will help us keep it that way.