After a long and hard-fought battle against Democrat Congressman Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz was re-elected by Texas voters on Tuesday.
When O’Rourke entered the race against Cruz last year, Democrats in Texas and across the country were elated with the possibility of unseating Cruz in Texas, a state that has not elected a statewide Democrat since 1994.
Though O’Rourke initially grew in popularity after his campaign crisscrossing the state and visiting every county, once the Cruz campaign began highlighting O’Rourke’s extreme liberal positions, his popularity began to dive.
Indeed, O’Rourke staked out the far-left Bernie Sanders position on nearly every issue, including socialized medicine, abortion, and open borders.
O’Rourke even supported a tax on oil that would have increased the price of gas for Texans by 24 cents per gallon. Taking such liberal positions won O’Rourke the adoration of Democrats nationwide and record amounts of campaign cash. However, it did not ultimately translate to electoral victory.
Despite the wishful thinking of those in the liberal media who repeatedly opined that the seat was in play, Texans voted Republican and stuck with Cruz, who has been a reliable fighter in the Senate for conservative values — a person who President Donald Trump, his former 2016 rival, has called one of his closest allies in the Senate.
As the curtain closes on the Cruz-O’Rourke electoral battle, it seems the jingle released by Cruz earlier this year ultimately rang true: If you’re going to run in Texas, you can’t be a liberal man.
