Another round of Republican infighting broke out in Fort Worth on Friday, with allegations of "race-baiting" flying in the U.S. Senate race as former Solicitor General Ted Cruz defended himself against a radio ad by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst that accused him of supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Cruz told reporters that Dewhurst's allegation is a "baldfaced lie."His campaign released a statement from George P. Bush, son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and nephew of former President George W. Bush, calling the allegations offensive and racially divisive.At the same time, a Dewhurst adviser said that Cruz is "desperate and flailing" and that Friday's attacks "are absolutely and totally out of line."The accusations in one of the hottest races on Tuesday's primary ballot came as early voting wrapped up.The local turnout exceeded those from midterm primaries in 2006 and 2010 as well as the 2004 presidential primary.By Friday night, 55,265 people had voted early in person and by mail, according to the Tarrant County Elections Center: 40,463 in the Republican primary and 14,802 in the Democratic primary.Complete statewide results were not available from the Texas secretary of state's office late Friday, but the most recent results showed that nearly half a million Texans voted in the 15 largest counties through Thursday: 181,133 in the Democratic primary and 276,614 in the Republican primary.The Senate race took center stage Friday. It's been a wide-open race, with nine Republicans vying to replace the retiring Kay Bailey Hutchison: Dewhurst, Cruz, former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, former ESPN analyst Craig James, Glenn Addison, "Doc Joe" Agris, Curt Cleaver, Ben Gambini and Lela Pittenger.Amnesty questionsThe Dewhurst radio advertisement this week basically says Cruz, who has publicly said he opposes amnesty, served on the boards of two Hispanic leadership groups that allegedly support amnesty.Past ads have taken aim at Cruz's law firm for representing a Chinese tire manufacturer against an American company.During the Fort Worth gathering, several Tea Party leaders spoke out in support of Cruz, who has picked up endorsements from 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and former presidential candidate Rick Santorum.Cruz said this Senate race "has been described as ground zero in the battle between the moderate establishment and the Tea Party tidal wave that is sweeping this country."He said he "categorically" opposes amnesty and believes the way to address the immigration problem in Texas is by securing the border, putting in place a strong E-verify system, eliminating benefits to those who are here illegally and ending the existence of so-called sanctuary cities.Cruz said that Dewhurst is too moderate and that Dewhurst's campaign is grasping at straws in the late days of an election because "they believed David Dewhurst could just write a check and buy this seat.""The Senate seat is not for sale in Texas," Cruz said, adding that he is the "strong conservative and fighter" Texans want in Washington, D.C.George P. Bush said in a statement that he was "offended not only as a Hispanic but as a Republican" when he heard the ad."This is the type of divisive racial politics used by President Obama and the Democrats," Bush said. "It has no place in the Republican Party."The campaign of Dewhurst, who has the backing of officials such as Gov. Rick Perry and 2008 GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, fired back with a statement from Jim Bognet, senior adviser to the campaign, saying Cruz is the one flailing and "shamefully attempting to play the victim.""This is about Cruz's deception and lack of character," Bognet said."Cruz is the one who chose to be involved and stand by these pro-amnesty groups. Cruz has accepted millions from Washington amnesty supporters falsely maligning David Dewhurst's conservative record. Cruz himself has repeatedly attacked David on illegal immigration throughout the campaign."Dewhurst's campaign released a statement from Jacob Monty, who served on the Hispanic Alliance for Progress Institute board with Cruz. Monty said that he found Dewhurst's ad truthful and that "there seem to be two Ted Cruzes."Bognet said: "The reality is Ted Cruz has a troubling problem with taking responsibility for his own actions. This is a sign of a flailing campaign unable to gain any traction that they're willing to launch unfounded personal attacks to divide Texans."The winner of this race -- whether decided Tuesday or in a July 31 runoff -- will face the winner of the Democratic primary: Addie Dainell Allen, Sean Hubbard, Paul Sadler or Grady Yarbrough.Early voting endsCandidates crisscrossed the state Friday, encouraging last-minute voting.Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.Early turnout was higher than some had expected given that the presidential races are essentially over.But the numbers didn't come close to reaching the historic early turnout in the 2008 presidential primary, when Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were locked in a fierce battle.In that election, more than 127,000 Tarrant County residents voted early: more than 90,000 in the Democratic primary and more than 36,000 in the Republican primary.Anna M. Tinsley, 817-390-7610Twitter: @annatinsley