Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) advised Republicans to not assume the Texas Senate race is a guaranteed win for the GOP, drawing parallels to an “energized” Democratic Party during his reelection campaigns.
Following Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s primary win against four-term Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) on Tuesday, Cruz warned Republicans nationwide that Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico is “dangerous.”
“The Democrats believe they have a chance to win the general,” Cruz said on his podcast Wednesday. “I got a message to Republicans in Texas and nationwide: Do not take this general election for granted.”
Cruz said during both of his reelection campaigns, he was Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) “No. 1 target in the country.”
“They’ve thrown everything in the kitchen sink trying to take me out and I’ve been there, and they’re getting ready to do that to Ken Paxton,” Cruz said. “There is potentially a real analogy between 2026 and 2018.”
In 2018, Cruz ran against former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, a closely watched race in which Democrats hoped to flip Cruz’s seat blue. It was also the most expensive Senate race at the time, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Similar to 2026, Cruz said the left was “enraged” about President Donald Trump and “energized” to turn Texas blue for the first time since Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX) won his reelection campaign in 1988.
Democrats showed up in massive numbers in 2018, with Cruz winning by only 2.6% compared with his 16.1% edge in 2012.
Cruz attributes the 2018 numbers to “complacency” within the Republican Party, as Trump wasn’t on the ballot, leading to lower GOP turnout.
Democrats view Texas as a key to taking back control of the Senate with a Talarico victory to replace Cornyn.
Talarico’s campaign garnered record donations Tuesday following Paxton’s victory, seeing a $600,000 haul in the two hours after the race was called, according to Politico.
Despite Cruz believing Paxton will win in November, he still cautioned Republicans, arguing that Texas’s red-state history isn’t enough to guarantee a win in the Senate race.
Continuing to draw similarities between 2026 and 2018, Cruz said Talarico is “reminiscent” of O’Rourke.
“James Talarico is absolutely extreme,” Cruz said. “But I will tell you what makes Talarico dangerous, and what worries me is he packages it in this very nice all-shucks demeanor and he sounds like a preacher.”
WHAT HAS TALARICO DONE WITH HIS TWO MONTHS AS THE ONLY OFFICIAL TEXAS SENATE NOMINEE?
“What worries me is someone who is not paying much attention to politics might turn on the TV and look at him and say, ‘Oh he seems like a nice young man,’” he added.
The Washington Examiner contacted the Talarico campaign for comment.