Posted on 07/05/2012 4:54:17 AM PDT by Zakeet
One of the Tea Party's most critical battles is heating up in Texas, where two conservative Republicans will slug it out for their party's Senate nomination later this month.
State and national Tea Party groups are backing former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz, who they hope will join a small but growing group of U.S. senators aligned with the conservative movement and pushing an agenda of less government spending, lower taxes and fewer regulations.
Cruz faces David Dewhurst, the state's lieutenant governor, in a July 31 runoff election after finishing at the top of the May 29 primary. Dewhurst beat Cruz by 10 percentage points but fell short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff.
The Texas race has captivated the Republican Right. The popular blog RedState calls it "the most important battle for conservatives this year" and is pushing for a Cruz victory.
In the face of Dewhurst's apparent lead, state and national Tea Party groups are pouring money and manpower into Cruz's campaign.
They want Cruz to join the growing ranks of Tea Party senators, including Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.
And they have good reason to feel hopeful.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
Cruz is a Conservative; his opponent is a RINO as are the two current Texas Senators.
I thought this was Cruz and Dewhurst? Maybe I’m confused, but there’s only one conservative in that pair...the one that hasn’t been Governor Perry’s bitch for a decade.
LLS
Both Perry and Dewhurst are conservative Democrats who had to have the R behind their names to win in Texas. Neither has ever endorsed the conservative bedrock belief in limited government, because they love the power of unlimited government.
Cruz is the Texas version of Florida’s Rubio, endorsed by the TEA Party against the wishes of the moderate Republican Party.
ABSOLUTELY!
But the RINOS who run the RNC would prefer you not know that.
Dewhurst is nothing but another GOPe—forget him!
As for me and my house, we will all vote for Mr. Cruz—a very true conservative!
Cruz is a longshot to win, just because of name recognition. Far to many people vote for a familiar name, which seems bizarre to me. I’m just the opposite. If I recognize a name, I tend to think he/she has been in office to long so I vote for anyone else. Mmmmmmm term limits....
Also, Rick Perry and Huckabee are NOT Tea Party icons, that is just silly.
I’ll vote for Cruz, and I’m gettin the word out to my friends, but I give Cruz maybe a 30% chance to actually win. I hope I’m wrong, we can’t afford another KBH.....
Polls are nonexistant in this race at the current time. Cruz has an internal poll showing him leading but I’ve found nothing else that is current.
The next and most likely last debate is scheduled for July 17, 2012. The race may well hinge on how Tom Leppert’s supporters (13%) break. Leppert hasn’t endorsed as of yet and may not.
A couple of other current articles dated July 5 if anyone is interested in reading them:
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/304723/can-cruz-pull-it-katrina-trinko
What this is REALLY all about is several big money supporters of Rick Perry and David Dewhurst who benefit greatly from the current illegal immigration situation and want things pretty much left alone are behind Dewhurst. Those of us who actually want the problem fixed are supporting Ted Cruz.
That's the nub of it in a nutshell.
Big money supports are in the race for sure. Note this from one of the articles I linked above:
snip......
Dewhurst is the clear choice among registered lobbyists in Texas, drawing 26 times more money from them than Cruz, according to a recent analysis of campaign finance data by the Houston Chronicle. Lobbyists in Washington, D.C., are donating to the race on a smaller scale but favor Cruz, according to the same analysis.
Dewhurst attracted $189,869 from 85 registered lobbyists in Texas, while just four Texas lobbyists gave a combined $11,750 to Cruz, according to the report. Federal lobbyists and their families have donated $120,148 to Cruz. Dewhurst has drawn less than $25,000 from that sector.
end snip
Dewhurst may fool some but I KNOW what has gone on in the Texas senate under his leadership and wouldn’t vote for him for dog catcher!
Runoff elections tend to not favor the incumbent. This will be a very low turn-out vote with motivated tea party people making the difference.
Do the names Bob Perry and David Weekly ring any bells with you?
The Cruz campaign claims nearly 23,000 donors, compared to Dewhurst’s 3,000; Cruz also counts nearly 27,000 donations under $100, compared to 11 for Dewhurst.
The paid Dewhurst advocates have shown up finally!
Mornin ngat!
Shame on me. That had never entered my mind. You are quite right. :)
Thank you, you have made my day! :)
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