Cruz rallies crowd in likely last Lubbock stop before Election Day

Nov. 01--U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz was back in Lubbock Wednesday for another rally ahead of Election Day.

Cruz, a Texas Republican seeking a second term in the Nov. 6 midterm, came out praising the current leadership and touting the accomplishments so far: tax cuts, regulatory reform, repealing portions of Obamacare and appointing conservative judges.

He clapped along during the "build a wall" chant and took a lot of shots at his opponent, U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, calling the El Paso Democrat, among other things, a far-out and out-of-touch liberal.

Cruz painted a picture of two paths Texas and the rest of the country will choose between this election. One is of endless investigations into President Donald Trump's campaign, investigations into Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's past, and the end of Trump's agenda.

He said the other path, which Cruz obviously favors, is that of deregulation, more conservative judges and more tax cuts. Cruz called this the alpha path, and he said it's accomplished by voting for Republicans.

"We've got a task before us," Cruz said. "We know the hard left is angry. They're energized, they're flooding $10's of millions into the state of Texas. We know we're going to see record-setting Democratic turnout on election day. We've got to turn out bigger."

If Cruz was able to get one thing across to his supporters at the rally, it's the importance of voter turnout. Cruz urged people to vote, and to get their friends and family to vote. One of the speakers introducing Cruz said a vote for Cruz in Lubbock is one that offsets a vote for O'Rourke in an Interstate 35-corridor city.

Cruz also traveled to Amarillo Wednesday, and on Thursday he'll be in Wichita Falls and Pampa. The freshman senator has made at least four public appearances in Lubbock for his campaign this year. On Wednesday he drew a crowd of several hundred people at Four Bar K Inside in southeast Lubbock. It was an enthu.iastic, loud and engaged crowd.

Audience members took offense to a woman with a sign that read "Proud Obamacare Recipient" on one side, and "This Small Business Owner Loves Obamacare" on the other. People in the crowd first tried to cover her sign with Cruz signs before giving up on that and simply pushing her out. She was removed from the rally by several men with the help of law enforcement. This all happened within the first two minutes of Cruz taking the stage.

As for the Affordable Care Act, Cruz applauded the fact that Congress removed the individual mandate. He hopes Congress will try again to repeal Obamacare.

The most recent Quinnipiac poll released Monday with just about a week to go before Election Day found Cruz leading by 5 percentage points among likely voters. The poll said 51 percent of likely voters favor Cruz compared to 46 percent favoring O'Rourke. The poll showed Cruz polling very well among Republican voters

Cruz ended the rally by asking people to support and volunteer. He said his biggest fear heading into the election is complacency from within the party.

"There is a common-sense conservative value throughout West Texas that is the key to keeping Texas strong and free," Cruz said. "Don't let a single person in West Texas stay home because, in this election the stakes are too high."

Early voting int he 2018 midterms lasts until Friday, Nov. 2.

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