This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/21/us/politics/beto-cruz-debate.html
The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Ted Cruz and Beto O’Rourke Set for First Debate Friday Night | Ted Cruz and Beto O’Rourke Set for First Debate Friday Night |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| DALLAS — Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Beto O’Rourke, the Texas political rivals who are locked in one of the tightest and most heated midterm races in the country, will face off Friday night in the first of three debates, as Mr. Cruz seeks to reassure worried Republicans and disrupt Mr. O’Rourke’s political momentum. | DALLAS — Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Beto O’Rourke, the Texas political rivals who are locked in one of the tightest and most heated midterm races in the country, will face off Friday night in the first of three debates, as Mr. Cruz seeks to reassure worried Republicans and disrupt Mr. O’Rourke’s political momentum. |
| In an auditorium at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Mr. Cruz and Mr. O’Rourke will meet for an hourlong debate, starting at 7 p.m. Eastern Time. Mr. Cruz, who was a leading Republican presidential candidate against Donald J. Trump in 2016, is seeking a second term in the Senate. But he is facing a robust challenge from Mr. O’Rourke, the El Paso congressman who is trying to become the first Democrat since 1994 to win a statewide election in deep-red Texas. | In an auditorium at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Mr. Cruz and Mr. O’Rourke will meet for an hourlong debate, starting at 7 p.m. Eastern Time. Mr. Cruz, who was a leading Republican presidential candidate against Donald J. Trump in 2016, is seeking a second term in the Senate. But he is facing a robust challenge from Mr. O’Rourke, the El Paso congressman who is trying to become the first Democrat since 1994 to win a statewide election in deep-red Texas. |
| Recent polls have indicated that the race is a tossup. On Tuesday, a poll by Quinnipiac University showed Mr. Cruz leading Mr. O’Rourke by nine percentage points among likely voters surveyed by phone. On Wednesday, an online poll by Reuters and others put Mr. O’Rourke ahead of Mr. Cruz by two percentage points among likely voters, the first poll that has had Mr. O’Rourke in the lead. | Recent polls have indicated that the race is a tossup. On Tuesday, a poll by Quinnipiac University showed Mr. Cruz leading Mr. O’Rourke by nine percentage points among likely voters surveyed by phone. On Wednesday, an online poll by Reuters and others put Mr. O’Rourke ahead of Mr. Cruz by two percentage points among likely voters, the first poll that has had Mr. O’Rourke in the lead. |
| [Make sense of the people, issues and ideas shaping the 2018 elections with our new politics newsletter.] | |
| The Friday night face-off will be a clash not only of red and blue America, but of personalities. Mr. O’Rourke, a former punk-rock musician, will be facing one of Washington’s most skillful debaters. | The Friday night face-off will be a clash not only of red and blue America, but of personalities. Mr. O’Rourke, a former punk-rock musician, will be facing one of Washington’s most skillful debaters. |
| Mr. Cruz was a national debate champion at Princeton University and has argued cases before the United States Supreme Court as Texas solicitor general. He has been prepping for this debate for weeks, long before the schedule was even finalized, engaging in hourslong prep sessions multiple times per week, according to people close to Mr. Cruz. | Mr. Cruz was a national debate champion at Princeton University and has argued cases before the United States Supreme Court as Texas solicitor general. He has been prepping for this debate for weeks, long before the schedule was even finalized, engaging in hourslong prep sessions multiple times per week, according to people close to Mr. Cruz. |
| Mr. O’Rourke, for his part, has been holding mock debates with his staff and getting used to answering questions in 90 seconds, according to people familiar with the preparations. And he has turned to an unlikely hobby: keeping a journal. During a road trip across the state last year, Mr. O’Rourke started writing down his daily experiences in journals, chronicling the people he met and the stories he heard. He has kept up the habit ever since, and over the past couple weeks, he has been rereading his journals for inspiration. | Mr. O’Rourke, for his part, has been holding mock debates with his staff and getting used to answering questions in 90 seconds, according to people familiar with the preparations. And he has turned to an unlikely hobby: keeping a journal. During a road trip across the state last year, Mr. O’Rourke started writing down his daily experiences in journals, chronicling the people he met and the stories he heard. He has kept up the habit ever since, and over the past couple weeks, he has been rereading his journals for inspiration. |
| The debate comes at a crucial time for Mr. Cruz, as Mr. O’Rourke has been on a recent upswing and has become a kind of Democratic rock-star in Texas and beyond, with TV talk-show appearances and packed rallies. His defense of football players taking a knee during the national anthem received millions of online views. A top Trump adviser, Mick Mulvaney, the federal budget director, evoked the anxiety among many Republicans when he told donors recently in New York City that Mr. Cruz might lose re-election because he is not seen as “likable” enough. | The debate comes at a crucial time for Mr. Cruz, as Mr. O’Rourke has been on a recent upswing and has become a kind of Democratic rock-star in Texas and beyond, with TV talk-show appearances and packed rallies. His defense of football players taking a knee during the national anthem received millions of online views. A top Trump adviser, Mick Mulvaney, the federal budget director, evoked the anxiety among many Republicans when he told donors recently in New York City that Mr. Cruz might lose re-election because he is not seen as “likable” enough. |
| Mr. Cruz has tried to brush off Mr. Mulvaney’s remarks, and the senator’s aides and those close to him say he has been taking his opponent seriously but remains confident he will win. | Mr. Cruz has tried to brush off Mr. Mulvaney’s remarks, and the senator’s aides and those close to him say he has been taking his opponent seriously but remains confident he will win. |
| “He knows he’s up against a serious candidate and that Democrats are energized by their rage against the President,” David K. Panton, an investor who is one of Mr. Cruz’s close friends and who was the senator’s debate-team partner at Princeton, wrote in an email. He added, “As he often tells me, you are either running scared or unopposed.” | “He knows he’s up against a serious candidate and that Democrats are energized by their rage against the President,” David K. Panton, an investor who is one of Mr. Cruz’s close friends and who was the senator’s debate-team partner at Princeton, wrote in an email. He added, “As he often tells me, you are either running scared or unopposed.” |
| For Mr. O’Rourke and Texas Democrats, the political stakes are considerable. The last time a Democrat was elected to statewide office was nearly 24 years ago, when Attorney General Dan Morales, Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock and a handful of others won re-election in November 1994. Mr. O’Rourke has become the key focus of activists and small-dollar donors in a drive to turn Texas from red to purple and, someday, even blue. | For Mr. O’Rourke and Texas Democrats, the political stakes are considerable. The last time a Democrat was elected to statewide office was nearly 24 years ago, when Attorney General Dan Morales, Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock and a handful of others won re-election in November 1994. Mr. O’Rourke has become the key focus of activists and small-dollar donors in a drive to turn Texas from red to purple and, someday, even blue. |
| Mr. Cruz has been eager to go on the offensive lately, telling audiences that his opponent is too radical for Texas and claiming that Mr. O’Rourke supports abolishing I.C.E. and impeaching President Trump. (Mr. O’Rourke has said that he has never directly advocated for impeachment; he has criticized the Trump administration’s family-separation policy, including abolishing I.C.E., but he has also questioned what abolishing the agency “would accomplish.”) | Mr. Cruz has been eager to go on the offensive lately, telling audiences that his opponent is too radical for Texas and claiming that Mr. O’Rourke supports abolishing I.C.E. and impeaching President Trump. (Mr. O’Rourke has said that he has never directly advocated for impeachment; he has criticized the Trump administration’s family-separation policy, including abolishing I.C.E., but he has also questioned what abolishing the agency “would accomplish.”) |
| On Twitter, Mr. Cruz joked about Mr. O’Rourke’s appeal to the anti-meat crowd, tweeting that “if Beto wins, BBQ will be illegal!” | On Twitter, Mr. Cruz joked about Mr. O’Rourke’s appeal to the anti-meat crowd, tweeting that “if Beto wins, BBQ will be illegal!” |
| Mr. O’Rourke has seemed uninterested in directly trading barbs with Mr. Cruz. “We’re running not against anyone or anything or any other political party — we are running for this country, and I’m so excited to be a part of it,” Mr. O’Rourke told Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show.” | Mr. O’Rourke has seemed uninterested in directly trading barbs with Mr. Cruz. “We’re running not against anyone or anything or any other political party — we are running for this country, and I’m so excited to be a part of it,” Mr. O’Rourke told Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show.” |
| Last week, after months of negotiations over logistics, the number of debates and whether to hold one in Spanish, the Cruz and O’Rourke campaigns agreed to three one-hour debates: The first one Friday in Dallas; a second on Sept. 30 at the University of Houston; and a third on Oct. 16 at a television studio in San Antonio. | Last week, after months of negotiations over logistics, the number of debates and whether to hold one in Spanish, the Cruz and O’Rourke campaigns agreed to three one-hour debates: The first one Friday in Dallas; a second on Sept. 30 at the University of Houston; and a third on Oct. 16 at a television studio in San Antonio. |
| All of the debates will be in front of live audiences. The debate Friday will be shown on the websites of NBC 5, The Dallas Morning News, The Texas Tribune and other Texas news outlets. The focus will be on domestic-policy issues. | All of the debates will be in front of live audiences. The debate Friday will be shown on the websites of NBC 5, The Dallas Morning News, The Texas Tribune and other Texas news outlets. The focus will be on domestic-policy issues. |