Ted Cruz is, without a doubt, one of the worst senators currently serving in the United States Senate. He is a right-wing ideologue who never bothers to consider what might be best for the people of this country. Can he be ousted from the Senate in 2018?
The chances of that happening might be better than you thought. The chart above is from the latest University of Texas / Texas Tribune Poll -- done between February 3rd and 10th of a random sample of 1,200 registered voters in Texas, and has a margin of error of 2.83 points. It shows that an astonishingly low 38% of Texans approve of the job Cruz is doing in the Senate -- and no group (except Republicans) has a majority approving of his job performance. Those are not great numbers for an incumbent.
There is little doubt that Cruz will win the GOP nomination in 2018, because the Texas GOP is controlled by teabaggers -- and the teabaggers still love Cruz. But he could be vulnerable in the general election.
Don't get me wrong. Texas is still a bright red state, and there are many who will vote Republican even though they may dislike Cruz. Cruz also raised a lot of money when he ran for president last year, and he will certainly try to tap those donors again for his senate campaign -- most likely giving him an edge in money available for the campaign. It won't be easy to oust him.
What will it take? First, Democrats would need an appealing candidate to run against him. Fortunately, there are two good candidates considering the run -- Rep. Beto O'Rourke of El Paso and Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio. Both are good campaigners and good progressives -- and personally, I would be happy to have either one as my candidate.
Second, it would take a very good turnout by Democrats and Independents. This could happen if the resistance movement against Trump continues, and I believe it will. Turnout is normally low in Texas in off-year election (only 33.7% of registered voters went to the polls in 2014 compared to 59.4% in 2016). If the turnout is low in 2018, which is likely, and the anti-Trump forces go to the polls in large numbers, a miracle could happen.
It's still a long shot, but there is a chance that Cruz could be ousted in 2018 -- and that would be beautiful!
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