Abbott won for governor in Texas by double digits. Texas is still Red.
The Senate race I think can be boiled down to 2 issues.
1). Beto basically had unlimited money to spend. Beto commercials were everywhere. Got Beto postcards in the mail. Cruz was comparatively absent.
2). Cruz has this “unlikeable” quality.
When Cornyn runs for re-election, he will win in a landslide. Cornyn is much more likeable than Cruz.
True, likeability is a HUGE factor in any race these days, in some cases, more so than the ideology.
For example, while Trump turns some voters off, his ability to be authentic and truthful to many segments of the population is what helped him defeat Hillary. Hillary also had an unlikeability factor in that she could not make a connection or relate to ordinary people.
I agree.
3.) Cruz blamed Trump’s “rhetoric” when the lefties rioted at Trump’s Chicago campaign rally. Cruz was being touted as a constitutional genius. The 2 did not compute and Cruz lost a large portion of his credibility in that moment.
Agreed. I’m guessing there were some protest non-votes by Republicans on Cruz as retribution for his behavior at the RNC convention. (Figuring “Cruz would win handily anyway, lets bring him down a notch”)