Tea Party leaders pouring into Texas to help Cruz in Senate race

By Anna M. Tinsley

atinsley@star-telegram.com

DALLAS -- Texas is ground zero for the Tea Party.

Until the votes are counted and the race is settled Tuesday night, the Republican runoff for U.S. Senate is the Tea Party's chosen battleground.

Many of the movement's leaders want to show that they are still strong enough to take on the party establishment, and they're flooding into Texas this weekend to campaign for former Solicitor General Ted Cruz against Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in the runoff for the seat being vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison.

A slate of high-profile Tea Party leaders -- including GOP Sens. Jim DeMint, Mike Lee and Rand Paul, as well as former House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Denton -- gathered at the American Airlines Center on Thursday night.

"The entire country is watching Texas next week," said Ryan Hecker, chief operating officer of FreedomWorks for America, a national anti-tax grassroots group that hosted the event, called FreePAC.

Electing Cruz "will lead to a tidal wave across the country," he said. "We have an opportunity across the country to not just win the Senate ... but [to elect] a fiscally conservative majority of the majority."

That's why Hecker said "we have people calling in from all over the country to help Ted Cruz." DeMint, R-S.C., said, "You're going to see, I think, on Tuesday that the Tea Party is still alive."

And reinforcements are heading to Texas.

Tonight in Houston, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former GOP presidential nominee Rick Santorum will be among those appearing at a Houston rally for Cruz.

Combs backs Dewhurst

Dewhurst's campaign staffers said it's no surprise that Cruz has out-of-state supporters.

But they noted that this is a Texas race. And that's why Dewhurst touted a new endorsement Thursday -- from state Comptroller Susan Combs.

"Ted Cruz has relied on out-of-state support for his entire campaign, so it's no surprise they're rallying for him in the final days of the campaign," said Matt Hirsch, a Dewhurst spokesman.

"In contrast, David Dewhurst is campaigning with Texans and talking about issues that matter to voters here in the Lone Star State. While Ted Cruz would go to Washington and serve at the pleasure of the special interests supporting his campaign, David Dewhurst will go to Washington to serve the people of Texas," Hirsch said.

State Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston, who founded the Senate's Tea Party Caucus, threw his support behind Dewhurst on Thursday, saying he considers the lieutenant governor "qualified based on the job he has done in Texas helping us pass the most conservative legislative package in the nation."

The runoff winner will face the winner of the Democratic Party's Senate race -- either former state Rep. Paul Sadler or Grady Yarbrough -- in November.

Today is the last day of early voting for Tuesday's election.

Turning the tide?

When the Senate race kicked into high gear last year, political analysts expected Dewhurst to easily capture the GOP nomination. He had the greatest name recognition and the most personal dollars to fund a campaign.

But Cruz, a Houston lawyer, forced a runoff, and some recent polls have him in the lead.

Grassroots activists say the tide has turned since the May 29 primary, when Dewhurst picked up 44.6 percent of the vote in a nine-way GOP race, to Cruz's 34 percent.

Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin said this Senate race is critical for the country.

"This is about sending a message," she said. "Ted Cruz doesn't just talk the talk.

"He has fought for the conservative movement and he has fought for conservative principles. He lives it, he breathes it, and he will help reinforce it."

Cruz told thousands of supporters in Dallas on Thursday night that repealing the national healthcare law is chief among the changes he'd like to bring.

That the Supreme Court didn't rule it illegal, he said, was "a tragic decision."

"As sad a day as that was for liberty, that was a shot heard round the world," he said. "That decision was like gasoline on a fire."

"That decision made clear that the fate of Obamacare isn't going to be decided in a court of law," he said.

"It is going to be decided ... at the ballot box and by 'we the people.'"

'Great awakening'

Thursday's rally was one of several events in the three-day Restoring Love program hosted by conservative radio and TV host Glenn Beck.

Armey, who leads FreedomWorks, said a key to bringing about change is backing presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

"Gov. Romney can't get elected without us," he said. "We must understand we cannot afford to let him lose on his own.

"Even if we [dominate] the House and the Senate, don't underestimate the mischief a president can do on his own."

Burleson activist Maggie Wright was among the speakers who encouraged Texas voters to go to the polls and show their support for Cruz.

"I believe God had a hand in this election," she said. "If we had the election in March, David Dewhurst would be our senator."

Cruz didn't mention divine guidance, but he did say a "great awakening" is sweeping the country.

"Millions of Americans are saying, 'We are fed up with the same tired establishment incumbents,'" he said. "'... Give us new leaders who will stand and fight for liberty, who will defend the U.S. Constitution and who will stop spending money.'"

He said he fears that the country is on the verge of giving the next generation -- including his two daughters -- a "bleaker future" than what was handed to past generations.

Anna M. Tinsley, 817-390-7610

Twitter: @annatinsley

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