Ted Cruz sees a 2010 Republican superstorm
Bigger than a red wave.
Ripple? Wave? Tsunami?
How about a superstorm.
That’s the kind of night Ted Cruz is forecasting for Republicans eight days from the midterm election.
In an interview Monday, the Texas senator said he believed the GOP was on track to easily recapture both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate with gains that could mirror the historic Republican 2010 midterm.
It represents one of the most bullish projections I’ve encountered from any Republican.
“I think in the House we’re going to see a substantial majority, potentially as many as 30, 40, 50 seats. I think it’s going to be on the order of magnitude of 2010. In the Senate, I think we’re going to get 53 or 54 seats. I’m even more optimistic on the Senate,” Cruz said.
Cruz will visit 17 states, making 25 stops for 32 different candidates by next Tuesday. He’s already campaigned in New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina Tennessee, Georgia and Florida.
During the final week, he’ll hit Oklahoma and Michigan and then cap his tour with a San Antonia rally for three Latina House candidates in the Rio Grande Valley — Rep. Mayra Flores, Monica De La Cruz and Cassy Garcia — who he believes will usher in a generational change in the Republican House caucus.
“The valley has been Democrat for over 100 years. I think we are going to wake up in January with the entire Rio Grande Valley represented by Republicans, all Latinas.”
If Cruz’s projection of 53 or 54 GOP Senate comes true, that means Republicans are holding Pennsylvania and likely flipping Nevada, Georgia and Arizona and possibly even New Hampshire into their column. “Fifty-three and a half is where I’d put it right now,” Cruz said on his podcast.
Cruz thinks Blake Masters’ fate in Arizona will be determined by Kari Lake’s margin in the governor’s race. “I think if Lake wins by 5 points, Blake wins also. If Lake only wins by 2 or 3 points, Blake could lose that race,” Cruz said.
One factor he’s worried about: The GOP’s candidate fundraising disadvantage in Senate races, fueled by deep-pocketed liberal donors and a small dollar army nurtured by ActBlue.
“That combination has resulted consistently in Democratic candidates having double or even triple the resources of Republican candidates. And that’s something we’ve got to address as a structural matter. It is remarkable we are even winning any races when being outspent 2-to-1 and 3-to-1 and yet that is becoming a predictable and consistent feature of elections,” Cruz told me.
“The long-term structural fundraising issues are issues Republicans collectively need to address.
A question Cruz wouldn’t answer …
If Republicans don’t take the Senate what would be the explanation?
“I don’t think that’s going to happen so I’m not going to worry about a counterfactual. Obviously an election that doesn’t turn out the way you want, you go back and assess what went wrong. But I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think this election’s going to exceed expectations.”
Read more: The Polling Scorecard
Listen: Why The House is in play for the next Decade