Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) issued a warning to his party on Tuesday as voters in his own state head to the primary polls: Democrats will show up in droves this year.
“We could have a terrific election in November,” Cruz said on conservative author Hugh Hewitt’s radio show. “We could win five, six, seven Senate seats. We could have a large functioning majority in the Senate.”
However, he cautioned, the opposite outcome seems entirely possible.
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“The flip side, if conservatives are complacent, we know that the left is going to show up,” the senator explained. “The extreme left, they’re angry. They’re filled with rage. They hate the president. And mark my words, we are going to see historic turnout from the extreme left in November, which means if conservatives stay home, we have the potential, we could lose both houses of Congress.”
Cruz added: “In Texas, if conservatives stay home, if we rest on our laurels, we could see Texas turn blue.”
While Cruz faces Republican primary challengers, there is no doubt he will face off against state Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) in November’s general election. O’Rourke has thus far run an energetic campaign in the Lone Star State, raising $2.3 million in the first 45 days of this year alone. During that period, O’Rourke raised almost three times more than Cruz.