Appearing Tuesday on Fox News Channel’s “The Ingraham Angle,” Cruz mounted a full-throated defense of Paxton while sharply criticizing Democrat James Talarico, Paxton’s opponent in the November race. According to Breitbart, Cruz framed the contest as a stark ideological choice for Texas voters, not a referendum on intra-party grievances or stylistic preferences within the Republican ranks.
Host Laura Ingraham opened the segment by noting the discontent among some Republicans who had hoped for a different nominee. “Obviously, you represent Texas and the Senate,” Ingraham said. “But, you know, a lot of people are grousing about — they didn’t, you know, we should have had a different candidate. You know, Paxton isn’t a good candidate. Talarico’s surging. Your perspective tonight on the way Republicans and the red state voters of Texas should look at this race?”
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Cruz responded by stressing the competitiveness of the contest and the stakes for conservatives. “Look, this race is a very real fight. It is serious. The polling that’s coming out all shows the race basically tied. It’s a one- or two-point race one way or the other. It’s a serious fight. And I believe we’re going to win. I think Ken Paxton is going to be the next senator from Texas,” he said, underscoring that Republicans cannot afford complacency in what has long been considered a reliably red state.
The Texas senator argued that once voters fully understand Talarico’s record and ideology, the Democrat’s support will erode. “And the reason is, James Talarico’s substantive views, his record, are way, way crazy left. That’s not where the people of Texas are. But right now, the voters don’t know that,” Cruz said, contending that the Democrat has been able to obscure his hard-left positions behind a more moderate public image.
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Cruz pointed to a recently surfaced video as evidence of what he described as Talarico’s radicalism. “And I’ll give an example of something that broke this week, a video James Talarico did with left-wing activists from the Sierra Club, where he described, he talks about capitalism, white supremacy, and climate change. And he said all three are tools of oppression that need to be dismantled,” Cruz noted, highlighting rhetoric that aligns more with academic Marxism than with mainstream Texas values.
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The senator argued that such language might appeal to fringe activists but is wildly out of step with the state’s pro-growth, pro-energy culture. “Now, if you’re a little Marxist activist, that is manna from heaven. But if you’re a Texan, you know what? Texans don’t want to dismantle capitalism. This guy is a woke DSA activist who wants to dismantle capitalism,” Cruz said, casting Talarico as a Democratic Socialists of America-style ideologue rather than a centrist Democrat.
Cruz further warned that Talarico’s environmental agenda would devastate the backbone of the Texas economy. “And in those same remarks to the Sierra Club activists, he says oil and gas, the oil and gas industry is going to end,” Cruz continued. “It’s going the way of the cassette tape. Look, if you’re running in Berkeley, California, that’s probably a good platform. But thank God Texas is not Berkeley, California. We are actually America in the heartland. And when the voters hear this guy’s kooky views, he’s going to lose. But we got a job to do between now and election day, which is to make sure they understand just how radical Talarico is.”
Ingraham, who said she has spent extensive time in Texas, pressed Cruz on concerns from voters and activists who are frustrated with Paxton’s campaign style and pace. “Yeah, I spent a lot of time in Texas, as you know, and I’ve talked to a lot of voters, some friends, and some people who, you know, like Paxton, don’t think he’s a great campaigner, wondering when he’s going to start really campaigning, wondering when Republicans are really going to put big money into this, and kind of just annoyed by the whole thing,” she said, asking Cruz what advice he would offer Paxton in a state with “amazing voters from all walks of life.”
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Cruz insisted Paxton is “out there fighting” and drawing a clear contrast with Talarico, while emphasizing Paxton’s conservative record as Texas attorney general. “Look, I think Ken is out there fighting, and he’s fighting to draw a contrast, draw a contrast between his record and James Talarico’s record, and Ken has been a strong conservative attorney general for the straight state. I’m strongly supporting him. Look, I’ve worked to raise millions of dollars for Ken Paxton’s campaign. The super PAC that supports me has spent millions of dollars supporting Ken Paxton’s campaign,” Cruz said, signaling that national conservative infrastructure is already engaged in the race.
He then turned his fire on Republicans who continue to relitigate the primary instead of uniting behind the nominee. “And I got to say, some of the Republicans that are throwing rocks at Ken Paxton, my message to them is enough. Stop your bitching. We had a $200 million primary, and Ken won. And one of the reasons the numbers are close is because $200 million of attack ads were run against him, and that does damage. You want to complain, complain in the primary, it’s over,” Cruz declared, arguing that prolonged infighting only benefits Democrats.
Cruz also noted what he sees as a double standard within the party, where conservatives are routinely told to fall in line behind more moderate nominees, but not vice versa. “And by the way, I will say, every moderate Republican, when they win a primary, they tell conservatives, now shut up and support the nominee. My answer to everyone whining, shut up and support the nominee, and don’t hand Texas over to a communist lunatic,” he said, framing Talarico as an existential threat to Texas’s energy sector, free-market economy, and traditional values.
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With polls tight and Democrats hoping to flip a Senate seat in a state central to America’s energy independence, Cruz’s message was unmistakable: Republicans can either unite behind Paxton or risk empowering a candidate who talks about capitalism, white supremacy, and climate change as “tools of oppression that need to be dismantled.” For conservatives who view Texas as a bulwark against the leftward drift of national politics, the choice he laid out was not between a perfect candidate and a flawed one, but between a proven conservative and what he bluntly labeled “a communist lunatic.”
