RICHMOND, Texas (AP) — Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke are of differing minds as to whether demographic shifts have changed Texas enough to send a Democrat to the U.S. Senate.
Cruz, the GOP incumbent, says even with booming Hispanic growth and other changes making the state more liberal, he's going to defeat his Democratic challenger because "This is Texas."
Cruz says he's backed by a "commonsense supermajority" as well as moderate Democrats who think O'Rourke's too extreme.
O'Rourke counters that he'll win because Texans will fight for new, liberal values. He says, "everything we care about in this country is on the line."
How both sides are framing the argument helps illustrate how a race that was supposed to be a cakewalk for Cruz has transformed into a nail-biter.
