With Beta out fundraising Cruz over the summer and with summer polls showing a tightening of the race, Republican super PACs are coming to the aid of Ted Cruz to ensure his victory:
DAILY BEAST – The Republican Party’s deep-pocketed political spenders are stepping up to prevent the once unthinkable: a U.S. Senate loss in deep-red Texas.
A pair of GOP super PACs are dropping significant sums into the Lone Star State as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) faces a challenge from Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) that’s become far too competitive for comfort. As a reflection of how real—if still unlikely—they are taking the threat of a Cruz defeat, the sums spent have suddenly skyrocketed.
Independent spenders have dropped about $890,000 in support of Cruz or in opposition to O’Rourke this year, according to Federal Election Commission data. Nearly two-thirds of those expenditures, about $560,000, came in the eight days prior to Sept. 6, according to a review of campaign finance data.
Mick Mulvaney is worried…
The spike in independent expenditures is a tacit recognition of Cruz’s vulnerability. White House budget director Mick Mulvaney privately acknowledged that reality last week in comments to donors, first reported by The New York Times.
“There’s a very real possibility we will win a race for Senate in Florida and lose a race in Texas for Senate, O.K.?” Mulvaney said. “I don’t think it’s likely, but it’s a possibility.”
Texans Are and Club for Growth
Leading the charge to save Cruz are super PACs associated with Texans Are and the Club for Growth, which spent $211,000 and $200,000 respectively, on television spots in late August hitting O’Rourke. The Club’s ad, which attacked O’Rourke over his proposed use of eminent domain to redevelop parts of El Paso, was part of a seven-figure push by the group to retain Republican control of the Senate seat in the face of Cruz’s apparent vulnerability.
While the Club is a well-known national organization, Texans Are is a newer group, formed last year by wealthy Cruz allies. It’s bankrolled by a host of six-figure donors, including Cinemark founder Lee Roy Mitchell, Omni Hotels owner Robert Rowling, and industrial supply tycoon Richard Uihlein.
I still don’t think this race is as close as these ‘registered voter’ sampled-polls have shown, and I’m waiting on a good ‘likely voter’ sampled-poll to come out.
But clearly what polling we’ve seen has Republicans worried enough to start dumping big money in the race. Democrats are energized behind Beta and I’m sure Cruz is glad to see the funding help in the state.
I’ll let you know when the next poll comes out on the Cruz race, which I expect to show the race in a +8% difference, at the very least.