U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) filmed a video of himself standing in front of the gravestone of Thomas Jefferson Rusk. Cruz describes Rusk as a “Texas hero” and lists Rusk’s achievements including being “the first U.S. Senator from the Lone Star State who served with Sam Houston,” and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836.
Rusk was also a military leader in the Texas Revolution. He (and Houston) led the Texan Army to a quick victory at the Battle of San Jacinto. Cruz refers to the battle as the one “where Texas won our independence from Mexico.”
Cruz, who places his hand over his heart, ends the one-minute video saying of Rusk: “Now, more than 150 years later, I’m incredibly privileged to serve in the very same Senate seat he first held.”
Today, I visited the gravestone of Thomas Jefferson Rusk. He was the first United States Senator from the Lone Star State who served with Sam Houston.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 17, 2023
Now, more than 150 years later, I'm incredibly privileged to serve in the very same Senate seat he first held. pic.twitter.com/zHLmKoXlmi
When famous Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo saw Cruz’s video on X (formerly Twitter), she replied: “Love this!” Cruz is a regular guest on Bartiromo’s shows Mornings with Maria and Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street.
[Note: In 1857, ten years after becoming the first U.S. Senator from Texas and “despondent over the death of his wife and ill from a tumor at the base of his neck,” Rusk died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 53 years old. Five of his seven children were still living at the time.]
Love this!
— Maria Bartiromo (@MariaBartiromo) August 18, 2023
Cruz is seeking a third six-year Senate term after a closer-than-expected race in 2018 against Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who lost by 3 percentage points.
In the 2024 election, Cruz will face three-term Democratic House member Colin Allred, a former football player (Baylor University, Tennessee Titans) who earned a law degree from UC Berkeley after retiring from the NFL.
Cruz is expected to again face a close race. When Allred, who defeated an incumbent Republican to win his House seat, released the video below announcing his run for Cruz’s seat, he wrote: “I’m running for for U.S. Senate because Texans deserve a Senator whose team is Texas. Ted Cruz only cares about himself.”
Allred added: “He’ll do anything to get on Fox News.”
I’m running for U.S. Senate because Texans deserve a Senator whose team is Texas. Ted Cruz only cares about himself.
— Colin Allred (@ColinAllredTX) May 3, 2023
Join our campaign today: https://t.co/2dROrrQrPV pic.twitter.com/9iz9yu1rFb
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