As he faces a second consecutive challenging re-election campaign, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is stepping up his efforts.
The conservative senator running for a third six-year term representing the Lone Star State in the Senate will join staff, volunteers, grassroots supporters, friends and family in Houston on Saturday for the official opening of his headquarters. 2024 campaign.
The opening comes a couple of days after Cruz announced a big campaign cash raise over the past three months.
The senator raised $9.7 million during the first quarter of 2024, according to figures first shared with Fox News on Wednesday. Cruz’s haul from his three fundraising committees was nearly double the $5.5 million he pulled in in the previous three months.
FIRST ON FOX: CRUZ RAISED ALMOST $10 MILLION IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS
Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas speaks at a donor conference hosted by the conservative Club for Growth on March 3, 2023 in Palm Beach, Florida. (FoxNews)
And the senator’s political team said that as of late March, Cruz had $15.1 million in cash on hand from his three fundraising committees. They noted that the figure includes amounts he has sent to the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the campaign arm of the Senate Republican Party, and to the Texas Republican Party (RPT), who are dedicated to their career.
Campaign spokesman Nick Maddux told Fox News that the senator is “off to a very strong start this year, as momentum to get him over the finish line in November continues to build across the Lone Star State.”
Six key Senate seats that could flip in November
Cruz, who narrowly defeated Rep. Beto O’Rourke in a close Senate battle in 2018, will likely need every penny he raises as he faces a tough re-election bid against his Democratic rival, Rep. Colin Allred.
Allred, a former NFL player, civil rights attorney and three-term congressman representing a suburban Dallas district, on Thursday nearly matched Cruz’s fundraising. His campaign announced that it raised more than $9.5 million during the first quarter.
Paige Hutchinson, Allred’s campaign manager, emphasized that the fundraiser “continues our push to build a strong campaign to win in November and send Ted Cruz packing his bags for good.”
Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, arrives at the U.S. Capitol for the final votes of the week of April 20, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Allred likely got a boost from President Biden, who told major donors at a fundraiser in Dallas last month: “You have to elect Colin as your next senator… so that Ted Cruz joins another loser, Donald Trump.”
The former president is the presumptive Republican Party presidential candidate for 2024.
Cruz, who came in second to Trump in the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, flirted earlier this cycle with another White House run before confirming in late 2022 that he would seek a third term in the Senate.
On Saturday, the senator will join volunteers and staff, who will spend the day making phone calls and knocking on doors on Cruz’s behalf. The campaign says it has already surpassed one million direct contacts with voters and notes that it is on track to reach historic grassroots numbers.
WHERE THE PRESIDENTIAL AND SENATE CONFRESHMENTS ARE LOCATED IN TEXAS
“Senator Cruz will continue to work day in and day out, meeting and speaking with Texans in every corner of the state to keep Texas Texas and ensure we remain the nation’s bastion of freedom,” Maddux emphasized.
O’Rourke raised significantly more than Cruz in 2018 in a high-profile race that attracted much national attention.
In an interview last week on Fox News’ “Hannity,” Cruz argued that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the chamber’s top Democrat, “has been explicit. He’s coming after Texas. I’m his number one target.” in all the country”. “.
Cruz argued that Democrats “are going to spend over $100 million this year… They’re flooding millions of dollars into Texas.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, during voting at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 5, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The senator has long been a favorite of conservatives across the country due to his numerous attacks on Democrats, from President Barack Obama at the beginning of his term to his attacks on President Biden in recent years.
But Cruz, with the recent launch of “Democrats for Cruz,” is showing his bipartisan chops as he aims to attract left-wing voters.
He’s also trying to portray Allred as a partisan who votes in lockstep with his party.
But Allred’s campaign responds that his proposal is about “rejecting Ted Cruz’s division and fighting for the freedoms of Texans.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Democrats have a slim majority of 51-49 in the chamber, which includes three independent senators who are part of the Democratic conference.
That means Republicans need a net gain of one or two seats to regain the majority, depending on which party controls the White House after this year’s presidential election.
Mathematics and the map. favor the Republican Party in 2024. Democrats defend 23 of the 34 seats at stake. Three of those seats are in red states that Trump won in 2020: West Virginia, Montana and Ohio.
Democrats are also defending an open seat in West Virginia after Sen. Joe Manchin announced late last year that he would not seek re-election.
Five other Democratic-held seats are in key swing states that President Biden narrowly won in 2020: Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
In the blue state of Maryland, Senate Republicans had a recruiting success with popular former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.
Texas and Florida, where incumbent Sen. Rick Scott is seeking re-election, appear to be the only competitive GOP-held seats that will be up for grabs this November.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 election campaign, exclusive interviews and more in our Fox News Digital Election Center.
