Free Republic

President Donald Trump let bygones be bygones Monday with his former rival presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, praising the Texas Republican before heading to Houston to rally for him. When the two men were duking it out for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, Trump famously hurled insults at Cruz, christening him with one of Trump's signature monikers: "Lyin' Ted." Trump also went after Cruz's family, suggesting Cruz's father was involved in the John F. Kennedy assassination and targeting Cruz's wife Heidi for her appearance. But the president made a reversal of his past insults as he prepared for his highly...

Supporters are lining up for President Trump's big rally in Texas, one whole day before the event will take place. With his 2020 campaign boasting "100,000+" people being interested in attending, lines of people outside the venue, shown across multiple blocks in photos tweeted by CNN's Betsy Klein, further indicate high enthusiasm for the event. The rally, set for Monday evening at the Toyota Center in Houston, is poised to be the most powerful boost yet for Sen. Ted Cruz, who will share the stage with the man he once opposed for the presidency. The Republican incumbent faces a surprisingly...

Small-dollar donors are playing an increasingly prominent role in bankrolling campaigns. Right now, Democratic candidates running for seats in the House and Senate appear to be reaping the biggest rewards from low-dollar donations. For example, In the race for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district, 43 percent of the individual contributions brought in by Democrat Randy Bryce between July 26 and Sept. 30 came from donations of $200 or less, his most recent FEC filings show. Meanwhile, only 17 percent of the individual contributions to his Republican opponent, Bryan Steil, were from small donors. More than 70 Democratic challengers in some of...

Texas Democratic Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke said at a CNN town hall Thursday night that he would still vote to impeach President Donald Trump. The El Paso congressman challenging Sen. Ted Cruz said that his position on impeachment hadn't changed, even as Cruz has used the issue to galvanize conservative voters against O'Rourke's campaign. Asked by CNN's Dana Bash if he had changed his mind after saying he'd vote to impeach Trump this summer, O'Rourke said, "I haven't." He pointed to the ongoing probe into whether Trump's 2016 campaign colluded with Russia. "There may be an open question as to...

HIDALGO — The Homeland Security Department's decision last week to speed construction of a border wall in the lower Rio Grande Valley has inflamed local residents just as the midterm election is in sight. Politically, it cuts both ways. As Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke stokes voter interest by reminding them about President Donald Trump's plans, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz also is using the issue to excite his base. At the border, where miles of gaps separate segments of wall constructed a decade ago — hardly any of it as imposing as the barrier Trump envisions — some residents are angry...

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said in a recent interview that he hopes somebody runs against President Trump in the 2020 election, and that Trump supporters' continued chants of "lock her up" — typically in reference to Hillary Clinton — are "disturbing." In his retirement interview with C-SPAN, Flake said the chants, which were sparked by Trump's campaign and have continued throughout his presidency, are more concerning than the controversial things Trump says. "The disturbing thing isn’t so much what [Trump] says anymore, it’s the cheers from people behind him and the chants of, 'Lock her up!' for example that’s just...

More than 4,300 donations from North Texans have been made to President Donald Trump's 2020 campaign to date, totaling about $800,000. American City Business Journals, Dallas Business Journal's parent company, compiled the data from the Federal Election Commission on all contributions to Donald J. Trump For President Inc. made between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2018. Those donations include gifts from some notable leaders and executives in the Dallas-Fort Worth community. Steve Winn, who is the CEO of Richardson public company RealPage Inc., has given $5,400 between primary and general election campaigns. Kirk Dinkins, who is the owner of...

Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price is playing the Nazi card. In a mail ad sent to his constituents, Price juxtaposed pictures of Adolf Hitler and President Donald Trump, comparing the two point by point. The ad, which features Price’s smiling face on the back and a list of polling places, calls on people to vote for Democrats in the Nov. 6 election. Dallas County Republican Party chairwoman Missy Shorey, who is married to a Jewish man, called the mailer "pathetic and disgusting" and called on Price to apologize. "I'm trying not to throw up in my mouth," she said....

Bill and Hillary Clinton are going on tour. The Clintons announced on Monday that they would headline a series of live events together -- billed "An Evening with The Clintons" -- across the country in the final weeks of 2018 and into 2019. The tour will provide the Democratic stalwarts with a notable platform weeks after the consequential 2018 midterm elections and deep into 2019, when a number of Democrats will be jockeying for positions in the fight to be the party's standard bearer against President Donald Trump in 2020. The events, which are being produced by tour promoter Live...

AUSTIN, Texas (KTRK) -- Senate-hopeful Beto O'Rourke used his free time from the postponed debate Sunday to reach voters on Facebook Live. His campaign billed his interactive effort as a live television ad in response to the spate of recent negative ads against him. During the Facebook Live broadcast, he mentioned the timing of his campaign, especially given the contentious testimony during the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. Rather than point out the emotional nature of the proceedings, O'Rourke offered his gratitude to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who has accused the Supreme...

Rest assured that if there’s a rumor that, in third grade, young Brett Kavanaugh yanked on the ponytails of the girl in the second row (war on women!), The New York Times, NBC News and phalanxes of their journalistic colleagues will be all over it. Meanwhile, Rep. Beto O’Rourke had a pair of felony arrests in his mid-to-late 20s, including a reckless drunk-driving incident in which he crashed into a car and allegedly tried to flee from the scene. The cases appear to have mysteriously disappeared without serious prosecution, notwithstanding that O’Rourke continues to deny basic facts outlined in at...

Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas took a verbal swing at his Republican rival, Sen. Ted Cruz, and his ties with President Donald Trump, during a debate on Friday, in the final weeks of a heated and closely watched midterm election in the state. Speaking at an auditorium at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, O'Rourke contrasted Cruz's recent conciliatory statements about Trump, and the harsh criticism Cruz had for Trump when they were both candidates in the 2016 Republican primary....

President Donald Trump has done “irreparable” damage to the United States and is “impeachable,” regardless of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, a House Democrat said Thursday. Texas Representative Al Green, who has forced two failed votes to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump, renewed his call in an interview with Hill.TV. "What he has done to this society is harmful and in some cases it may be irreparable,” Green said on the media outlet’s Rising show. He gave the example of Trump telling “police officers that you don’t have to be nice, when you’re arresting someone.” "These are the kinds of...

Donald Trump questioned his Christianity, insulted his wife's appearance, suggested his father was involved with President John F. Kennedy's assassination and nicknamed him Lyin' Ted. Ted Cruz called Trump a "sniveling coward," a "pathological liar" and "utterly amoral." It's all water under the bridge now, as Cruz fights to hold his Senate seat in deep-red Texas and the President struggles to keep a Republican majority in the Senate. Trump has volunteered himself, as well as two of his most high-profile surrogates -- his children, Don Jr. and Ivanka -- to appear alongside the Texas senator as his re-election race tightens....

Two politicians not known for brevity will face off at 6 p.m on statewide television. When Republican incumbent U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and his Democratic opponent, Beto O’Rourke, face off in their first debate Friday, watch as two long-winded politicians struggle for brevity. This past weekend, a reporter asked Cruz a simple question about Hurricane Harvey. His answer lasted 3 minutes, 57 seconds—which is forever on television. O’Rourke recently used 3 minutes, 38 seconds to give his defense of National Football League players taking a knee during the national anthem to protest police violence against blacks. The abridged version of...

Noticeably absent from [Bush’s] list is Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican who is facing a surprisingly robust challenge from Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso. Cruz once worked for the former commander in chief, both on Bush’s presidential campaign and then in his administration. The senator also met his wife, Heidi, while working for Bush’s campaign, leading him to say that he “will always be grateful” to the former president…

Last week, President Trump took to Twitter to announce that he would be holding a re-election rally for one of Texas’ senators, proclaiming that he would find the largest stadium in Texas in which to gather supporters. However, on Saturday, one of Trump’s nemeses announced a competing rally scheduled to take place at the same time. Michael Avenatti will counter Trump’s rally for Ted Cruz with a “resistance rally” of his own. In announcing the rally, the attorney indicated that he wants to “fight fire with fire.” Trump has endorsed Senator Cruz for re-election and seemingly desires to show his...

Welcome to Pollapalooza, our weekly polling roundup. Poll of the week A new Texas Senate poll came out this week showing Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke within 1 point of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. It gave new life to a familiar question: Could Texas finally flip blue? Normally, this would be the point where we lecture everyone about the dangers of putting too much stock in one poll. But this poll wasn’t even much of an outlier — it came on the heels of a few others that also show O’Rourke within a few points of Cruz. That’s an awfully close...

Hard-working, strong Asian-American Republicans are active and vocally supporting the leadership of President Trump while working to instill Republican values and policies in their communities. Kimberly Yee is an American politician and a Republican member of the Arizona Senate representing District 20 since January 14, 2013. Being a candidate for Arizona State Treasurer, Senator Kimberly Yee has been consistent throughout her career in public service and she has earned a reputation at the Arizona State Capitol as a fiscal conservative who advocates for issues on behalf of the taxpayer. Asian Republicans are no longer hidden; they have an active and...

Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) said on Tuesday that President Trump's performance at a controversial news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin warrants impeachment – and that he would vote to do so. "Standing on stage in another country with the leader of another country who wants to and has sought to undermine this country, and to side with him over the United States - if I were asked to vote on this I would vote to impeach the president," O'Rourke said, according to The Dallas Morning-News. "Impeachment, much like an indictment, shows that there is enough there for the case...