As Texans gear up to vote on Election Day, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz spoke with The Dallas Express about important issues in the Presidential race and his Senate campaign.
Most Expensive Senate Race in U.S. History
Cruz (R-TX) is an incumbent facing a monsoon of out-of-state cash supporting his Democratic opponent, Congressman Colin Allred. As previously noted by The Dallas Express, the race for the Texas U.S. Senate seat between current U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic opponent Colin Allred has officially turned into the costliest Senate race in United States history.
Allred’s FEC filings reveal that nearly all his top 100 donors came from D.C. or California. Throughout the race, Allred has consistently outraised and outspent Cruz.
“Chuck Schumer has been explicit that I’m his No. 1 target in the country. And Schumer and George Soros are flooding over $100 million into the state of Texas to try to beat me,” Cruz told DX.
Meanwhile, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has not backed up his Senate colleague with cash from various PACs in his orbit.
“On the Republican side, Mitch McConnell runs the largest Republican super PAC in the country for $100 million,” Cruz said. “We are in the middle of a massive battle in Texas, and Mitch has chosen to spend nothing in Texas.”
Cruz noted that this is not the first time this has happened. “That’s exactly the same thing he did six years ago in 2018 when I was in what was at the time the single most expensive Senate race in U.S. history. We were being outspent three to one, and [I ended up winning by] 2.6%. And once again, the Senate Leadership Fund, which had about $300 million in that cycle, spent not a penny in the state of Texas.”
This does not mean Cruz is short on allies. He explains that much of his funding comes from the grassroots to TedCruz.org.
Cruz’s FEC filings also show support from WinRed, the American Israel Public Affairs PAC, and a joint victory fund for him and his colleagues Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rick Scott (R-FL).
Immigration
President Joe Biden has explained his construction of new sections of the border wall by saying he was required to do so because of congressional mandates.
DX asked Cruz if he would support making border wall funding mandatory so that whoever becomes president next would be compelled to continue the project.
The Senator said, “The text of the law requires that the money be spent, but Joe Biden has taken the approach to our immigration law that is unlike that of any president in our country’s history.”
He then condemned both Biden and Vice President Harris for “[defying] the law.” Cruz joked that the duo could make you miss President Obama because, in his view, “Barack Obama, by and large, followed the law. Barack Obama deported millions of people. In fact, if you remember, the far left got very angry with him and called President Obama the Deporter-in-Chief.”
DX asked Cruz his thoughts on Allred’s attack ads, which accused him of not being tough enough on the border.
Cruz hit back, reminding readers that Allred once called the border barrier “that racist border wall.”
The Supreme Court
Cruz highlighted President Trump’s judicial appointees as “one of the most important legacies of the Trump presidency.”
Trump appointed three members of the Supreme Court and numerous appellate and trial court judges in a spree of confirmations that Pew Research noted for its quantity and speed.
However, in the next presidential term, there could be between one and three openings on the Supreme Court, enough to potentially flip its ideological balance. Recent comments from Vice President Kamala Harris have given the impression she would be open to adding new justice seats to the Court to alter its ideological balance, in an act that is sometimes called “court packing.”
Control of Cruz’s Senate seat could tip the balance of the Senate and the Senate Judiciary Committee, where presidential appointments to the Supreme Court and other federal benches start.
DX asked Cruz what his Senate race could mean for the future of the Court.
“I spent 12 years fighting for principled constitutionalists on the federal bench, judges who will protect the Constitution, who will protect our fundamental rights under the Bill of Rights, including free speech and religious liberty and the Second Amendment,” Cruz said, noting that “Colin Allred has pledged to end the filibuster and has expressed his willingness to pack the Supreme Court to grow it from nine.”
Cruz said Texas jobs could be on the line because Allred may vote for lower-level court nominations.
“Take a look at the recent decision from the D.C. Circuit Federal Court of Appeals,” Cruz said. “That revoked the permit for the liquid natural gas terminal in Brownsville, Texas, an $18 billion project bringing much-needed jobs to South Texas, and yet three left-wing Democrat judges voted to revoke that permit, which, if that decision is not overturned, will destroy 6,000 high-paying jobs in South Texas.”
Cruz concluded his thoughts on the matter by saying, “If Colin Allred were Senator, that is what we would see a whole lot more of.”
DEI
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives are some of the most contested programs in federal agencies.
Republican Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, Trump’s running mate, has introduced legislation titled the Dismantle DEI Act of 2024 to defund DEI federal programs.
DX asked Cruz if he would vote for the bill or other similar legislation that achieved the same goal.
“Of course, and I have supported legislation in the past to defund DEI. DEI has done enormous damage to our federal government, to our military, to corporate America, to our universities,” the Senator said.
Cruz directed interested parties to his recent book “Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America.”
“It details in great length the harms that DEI has caused, and we should absolutely remove it, root and branch, from the federal government. The federal government should not be discriminating based on race, nor should it be spreading division and racial hatred.”
The final day to vote is November 5.
A recording of DX‘s full exchange with Cruz can be heard on the Cowtown Caller podcast.