With momentum surging behind Texas Democratic Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke in his race against Sen. Ted Cruz, Republicans in the state are likely in a panic as the November midterms inch closer.
According to Markos Moulitsas, the founder of Daily Kos and co-founder of Vox Media, O’Rourke is in a virtual tie with Cruz – 48 percent to 46 percent.
Moulitsas points to a surge in momentum for the Democrat over the past three weeks.
This is real. Our @civiqs data has shown real pro-Beto movement in the last three weeks, now trails Ted Cruz by only 2, 48-46. https://t.co/ayvn5eo5UH
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— Markos Moulitsas (@markos) July 9, 2018
— Markos Moulitsas (@markos) July 9, 2018
What is keeping the margin so close, according to Civiqs polling, is O’Rourke’s support among young voters, women and minorities.
The breakdown:
— Markos Moulitsas (@markos) July 9, 2018
Deep red Texas isn’t out of reach for Democrats
While pulling off an upset in deep-red Texas is still a longshot for the Democrats, the Civiqs numbers are the latest indication that the Lone Star State isn’t completely out of reach for the blue team.
‘[S]omething is catching here,” Politico noted on Monday, pointing out all the ways O’Rourke’s candidacy
“Fueled by millions in small-dollar donations, O’Rourke is outraising Cruz. In recent weeks, President Donald Trump’s policy of separating migrant families detained at the border has given his campaign a jolt of moral clarity,” the report noted. “And voters are responding in a way that Texas Democrats say they have not seen before in modern times.”
For further evidence of O’Rourke’s momentum, Politico pointed to a weekend in late June when the Democrat drew “thousand-strong crowds in hundred-degree-plus heat.” The report called the turnout “unheard of for a Senate campaign five months before Election Day.”
At the end of the day, the fact that Democrats are making Republicans nervous in Texas should worry the GOP about their chances elsewhere – even if Beto O’Rourke doesn’t pull off the ultimate upset.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
