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Texas' intensely watched Republican U.S. Senate runoff tonight will be a stunner no matter how it turns out. Political newcomer Ted Cruz could defeat Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, a well-known and well-funded GOP officeholder, and provide tea party activists across the country another high-profile victory. An outside poll released late Sunday indicated that Cruz had a solid 10-point lead over Dewhurst. But Dewhurst, who has the support of Gov. Rick Perry and other top Texas political leaders, could still snatch a victory from the tea party. He has poured $19 million of his own personal fortune into the race, and...

Come November, I hope Democrat Paul Sadler will be the new junior U.S. Senator of Texas. Sadler is a self-proclaimed Progressive with a proven track record behind his liberal Democrat label. But, despite my hopes, recent Texas electoral history and the state’s political climate suggest the November election will not send Sadler to Washington, D.C. So, Progressive Democrats should participate in tomorrow’s Republican Primary Runoff between former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz and Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst. For Progressive Democrats, David Dewhurst is the best option.

Come November, I hope Democrat Paul Sadler will be the new junior U.S. Senator of Texas. Sadler is a self-proclaimed Progressive with a proven track record behind his liberal Democrat label. But, despite my hopes, recent Texas electoral history and the state’s political climate suggest the November election will not send Sadler to Washington, D.C. So, Progressive Democrats should participate in tomorrow’s Republican Primary Runoff between former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz and Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst. For Progressive Democrats, David Dewhurst is the best option. Dewhurst publicly affirmed his support for a guest-worker program in 2007. His more recent...

Eighteen months ago, Ted Cruz was a starry-eyed Texas Republican with long-shot hopes of becoming a United States senator. On Tuesday, the former state solicitor general looks headed to an unlikely runoff victory over Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, win that would defy the power of the state’s GOP establishment. ((snip)) So how did Cruz stay competitive and even climb into what looks like the driver’s seat? He leveraged national acclaim from conservatives like Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and George Will into strong local tea party support, winning an impressive 34 percent of the primary vote and forcing a runoff against...

A Public Policy Polling poll released Sunday evening reports Ted Cruz has a 52 percent to 42 percent advantage over Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst on the eve of Tuesday’s Texas GOP Senate runoff. From PPP’s analysis: Cruz's victory is driven by 4 things: the Tea Party, the enthusiasm of his supporters, a generational divide within the Texas Republican ranks, and the lack of regard the party base currently holds for Rick Perry. Cruz is ahead by a whooping 75-22 margin with Tea Party voters, more than making up for a 56-39 deficit to Dewhurst with voters who don't consider themselves...

PublicPolicyPolling ‏ @ppppolls Cruz is up 55-40 with those who already voted so Dewhurst really needs a huge election day turnout to have any chance Also...FYI.... 31% of Texas runoff voters more likely to support a Palin endorsed candidate to only 16% for one backed by Perry

Initially I was a Cruz supporter, but as the campaign rolled on and I found out that Cruz is a trial lawyer, I was skeptical, but I still supported Cruz, because he said the right things. Still, though, saying the right things cannot hide your initial background, a trial lawyer=community activist. As in all elections, the choice is the lesser of two evils, and a businessman is a lesser evil than a trial lawyer.

AUSTIN — Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst says he never felt the need to seek the support of key tea party leaders nationwide because, “I’ve been focused on Texans.” Asked about former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and other grassroots darlings coming to Dallas and The Woodlands this week to campaign for Ted Cruz, his Republican opponent for U.S. Senate, Dewhurst said, “I’ve never gone and asked for their help.”

Comptroller Susan Combs on Thursday added her name to the long list of Texas elected officials who are backing Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in his bid for the U.S. Senate. Dewhurst has been “relentless and focused on conservative principles,” said Combs, who credited the lieutenant governor for putting Texas in a strong economic position. “Fighting for principle is not always easy and it is not always visible,” Combs said at an Austin news conference. “I will tell you that actions speak a lot louder than words.” The low-key news conference at Run-Tex on Riverside Drive stands in stark contrast to...

We are asking all Tea Party supporters to help us make TONIGHT'S Ted Cruz Telethon a success! Our 2 hour Ted Cruz Telethon TONIGHT is critically important to ensuring that conservative Ted Cruz is elected to the U.S. Senate as funds raised will go directly to airing our 'Tea Party Supports Ted Cruz' TV ad.  This ad is vital to combating the establishment and D.C. SuperPAC funded attack ads on Cruz. With the Telethon TONIGHT from 8-10 Central Time, there are a couple of ways in which you can help.  ____________________________________________________________________________ 1. SPREAD THE WORD Forward this email to all your...

Dewhurst's Allies Are Throwing The Kitchen Sink At Cruz: The main super PAC supporting Dewhurst, the Texas Conservatives Fund, released a harsh new TV ad on Tuesday which can be best described as a political Hail Mary Pass. The spot ties Cruz to the suicide of a teenager (the boy's mother is featured in the ad) who served time in a juvenile detention center. But to say the connection is a stretch would be an understatement. Cruz defended a Pennsylvania developer in a judicial but not a corruption...... Cruz's Fundraising: Cruz outraised Dewhurst during the May 10-June 30 period, bringing...

I understand, from a far distance, that the anti-Ted Cruz ads have been pretty brutal. This report by National Journal, Four Signs of Cruz-mentum, indicates the last few days will be the worst yet: The spot ties Cruz to the suicide of a teenager (the boy’s mother is featured in the ad) who served time in a juvenile detention center. But to say the connection is a stretch would be an understatement. Cruz defended a Pennsylvania developer in a judicial corruption scandal, but not on a criminal matter. The super PAC’s decision to double down on the weak connection the...

Texas US Senate Debate on Texas FOX StationsTed Cruz vs. David DewhurstLIVE STREAM

Take a Stand with Ted Cruz Tea Party Express is hosting a two-hour long ‘Take a Stand with Ted Cruz’ Radiothon next Wednesday, July 25th in Dallas, Texas on KLIF 570 AM to help us elect the next Tea Party Senator, Ted Cruz!Hosts: Tea Party Express Chairman Amy Kremer and Tea Party Express singer and entertainer Kay Rivoli will host the event, and will be joined by some of the nation’s most influential Tea Party leaders and politicians who also proudly stand with Ted Cruz for U.S. Senate. It is crucial that tea party activists and leaders from across...

We finished our new 'Tea Party Supports Ted Cruz' TV ad just in time as early voting starts today! We finished our new 'Tea Party Supports Ted Cruz' TV ad just in time as early voting starts today!Dear Friends,Thanks to your passion and generous support, we reached our fundraising goal and worked over the weekend to complete our new 'Tea Party Supports Ted Cruz' TV ad that highlights that Cruz is the true conservative that will fight for our Tea Party values,  Here it is, what do you think?Click here to play We finished the ad just in time as...

From the Dallas Morning News (no link) Dewhurst accepted a debate at the last minute with Cruz at a Tea Party event. There is strong evidence that Dewhurst's constant harping on China connections and negative ads are hurting Dewhurst, and that he has lost the conservatives in Texas. It has gotten so bad that the jokes are along the line of " Ted Cruz supports theChinese. He was seen at a Panda drive-through". Not one ad by Dewhurst giving a positive reason to vote for him.

The run-off election between Ted Cruz and David Dewhurst is July 31st. Conventional wisdom says whoever wins that race will also win in November and be the state's next U.S. Senator. Joe Householder, with Purple Strategies, is quick to point out he's a Democrat. But as a political strategist he says this run-off is working in Cruz's favor. "Run-offs, especially on the Republican side, are the elections that usually draw people, the kind of folks who I like to say drive by the school every Saturday to make sure there's not an election. And those are the folks that Ted...

I have always had a lot of respect for the guys who are running David Dewhurst’s campaign, but I’m starting to see now why Rick Perry had no chance of getting elected President. The same team running Dewhurst’s campaign ran Perry’s Presidential campaign and has stooped to what I thought would be an impossible low. Contra the headline at CNN.com, David Dewhurst actually raised less money than Ted Cruz. Dewhurst had to pump over $4 million into his campaign to save face and win the media spin that he outpaced Cruz. In fact, Cruz has raised $1.7 million and Dewhurst...

Anti-Cruz SuperPAC Receives $2.5 Million - We Must Fight Back!Dear Friends, Just as we predicted, with the news of Tea Party candidate Ted Cruz's good poll numbers in the Texas US Senate race, the 'business as usual' political establishment is in a panic and has dumped $2.5 million into an anti-Cruz SuperPAC to try and take out our candidate with two weeks left in the race.AP PhotoIt is clear that momentum is on our side, but we can't let up with 15 DAYS to go until this important election.  The Dewhurst campaign and his political establishment backers are in...

"For the first time in their long campaign slog, independent polls are showing the so-called movement candidate, tea party favorite Ted Cruz, leading the GOP establishment favorite, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. They are trying to replace Kay Bailey Hutchison in the U.S. Senate and face off once again in the July 31 runoff election. “If less than a million people vote and Cruz wins, he’s likely to have coattails,” said Mustafa Tameez, a Houston political consultant. “He’ll pull in a lot of the movement candidates.” Cruz has insisted all along that his supporters have the enthusiasm, and a new survey...