Big El Paso Political News – Beto O’Rourke Will Be Ted Cruz’s Only Challenger After Joaquin Castro Unexpectedly Drops Out Of The Texas Senate Race

Texas is a Republican state, that's no secret, but Senator Ted Cruz is facing a Democratic challenger who appears to be gaining some ground on him.

El Paso's congressman, Beto O'Rourke, was in a fight to go against Cruz in 2018, but first he had to get past another high-profile, rock star Democrat, Joaquin Castro. Castro and his twin brother, Julian, have long been seen as rising stars in the Democratic party, and Joaquin was seen as the best challenger against Cruz.

But then Beto came along.

No one believed that a congressman from El Paso could pose a threat to Cruz, but it seems he poses enough of a threat to Castro that he has decided to pull out of the race. That's a big deal because conventional wisdom was that the Dems would be supporting his run given how high profile he already is in Texas politics. That possible run came to an end when Castro sent an email to his supporters on Monday saying, "... with the threats posed by Russia and North Korea, coupled with the reckless behavior of this Administration and their failure to invest in economic opportunity for the American people, at this time I believe I can best continue that work by focusing on my duties in the House Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Committees."

There hasn't been a Democrat in a Texas Senate seat since 1988, and Beto is facing Cruz's huge campaign war chest and his own lack of name recognition in the rest of the state. Having an El Pasoan in the Senate would be an amazing feat, and even though I don't personally agree with some of his views, I think having Beto in the Senate would be a huge boon for El Paso.