OOPS!
Dems Down: Flores Clobbers Gallego, Poll Shows Cruz Up by Nine In Texas,
September 18 may be remembered as the day the Democratic Party's plans of for a 'blue wave' in the November elections broke and rolled back out to sea, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Republican Pete Flores, a retired Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game warden, stunned former Congressman Pete Gallego to win the District 19 State Senate seat which was vacated by convicted felon Carlos Uresti. A Republican has never won in the 19th District dating back to the creation of the district, which runs from Southeast San Antonio all the way to the Big Bend.
Flores, flanked by supporters chanting 'yes we can!' celebrated his victory by urging Texas Republicans to continue the momentum set by his campaign.
"We need to continue this momentum until November," he said. "That will be a critical election for our nation and for our state."
Not only did Republicans win a State Senate seat they have never held, but Flores victory gives the Republicans a record veto-proof 21 seats in the 31 seat State Senate.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who was at Flores' victory party, says Flores is also the first Hispanic Republican elected to the Texas Senate, and he was elected in a district which is two-thirds Hispanic.
"If you think Hispanic Texans across this state are going to vote for abortion, open borders, to raise your taxes, to take your guns away, the answer was sent tonight, and that answer is 'no'!" he told the cheering crowd.
At the same time Flores was rolling to a 53% to 47% victory, Texas Democrats got another dose of bad news.
A new Quinnipiac University poll shows Ted Cruz surging to a nine percentage point lead over Democrat challenger Beto O'Rourke. That is a major boost for Cruz, as previous polls had shown O'Rourke within the margin of error or even tied with Cruz.
"Those who were trying to build a narrative that Sen. Cruz is in deep trouble, and the state Republican leadership is not respected, those have fortunately been put to lie," Texas Republican chairman James Dickey said.
The new poll stressed that, unlike previous polls that surveyed 'registered voters,' the new poll surveyed 'likely voters,' which is a significant distinction in Texas, where Republicans are far more likely to vote than Democrats.
Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilbert Hinojosa doubts the poll."I don't really believe these polls measure the enthusiasm level for the candidates," Hinojosa told News Radio 1200 WOAI.
Patrick summed it up this way: "All this talk about a blue wave, well the tide is out."
woai.iheart.com
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