Democrat Dog Jones pulled off an upset in Alabama’s special Senate election, barely beating embattled Republican Roy Moore.
High on the Alabama win, Democrats are experiencing delusions of grandeur, believing bamamentum will carry over to the Lone Star State.
And even a former Senior Bernie Sanders aide:
The narrative is building for one specific reason — if Democrats want to prevent the GOP from retaining the power of fillibuster heading into 2019, they have to defeat Ted Cruz. Texas is their only chance.
Politico mused:
If Democrats can legitimately put Texas in play — still an if — it would be an important moment for the party going into the next election. Raising money for 2018 would be a lot easier if they can inspire donors with a message of potentially taking the Senate, as opposed to just stanching the bleeding.Still, senior Democrats are quick to tamp down expectations about their chances in the Lone Star State. Last year, Democrats had a favorable map and were bubbling with confidence about their prospects of winning the Senate — only to experience a disaster on Election Day.Their focus is on reelecting endangered incumbents and keeping the GOP from a filibuster-proof majority in 2019, which would allow Republicans to run roughshod over Democrats.
As did Business Insider. Drunk on the kool aid, The Week even suggested, “Victory is a real possibility,” when writing about a potential Cruz upset.
Everyone on the “Cruz is vulnerable” train points to Cruz’s low favorability ratings at home as a harbinger of things to come, boast that even the scandal-laden Moore was better liked by his would-be constituents, and note that assumed Democrat primary opponent Beto O’Rourke is just the man to bring Cruz down. But Ted Cruz is no Roy Moore and Texas is a completely different beast than Alabama.
Cruz’s refusal to endorse Trump at the Republican National Convention, his Senate grandstanding, and his run for the presidency so soon after ascending to the Senate upset many a diehard supporter back home. But given a choice between a Democrat or Cruz, the choice is easy for Texans.
No election is a lock and life loves to throw curve balls in the midst of surety, but trying to knock off Cruz without a major scandalous strike is a fool’s game.
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