I'll say! Tea Party favorite Ted Cruz won the Texas Republican runoff for the U.S. Senate seat held by the retiring Kay Bailey Hutchinson, defeating GOP establishment candidate David Dewhurst. Easily. With 96% of the state's 7,957 precincts reporting Cruz was ahead 57% to 43%. Cruz is heavily favored to defeat Democrat Paul Sadler, a former state representative, in November.
Mr. Cruz's win "is the biggest victory for the tea party to date," said Tom Jensen, director of Democratic firm Public Policy Polling. A May poll by the firm showed Mr. Dewhurst with a 17-point lead, but a July 29 poll of likely GOP voters found a complete reversal, with Mr. Cruz ahead by 10 points.
Mr. Dewhurst said he called Mr. Cruz to concede, according to the Associated Press.
Mr. Cruz, 41 years old, is a Harvard Law School graduate and the son of a Cuban immigrant father. He won the backing of Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. He favors allowing states to pass Arizona-style legislation targeting illegal immigration and has called for reducing income-tax rates and federal spending, including shuttering agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency.
Clearly, reports of the Tea Party's demise have been greatly exagerrated. Just ask Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina
"People keep asking, 'Is the tea party still alive?' " Mr. DeMint said Tuesday. "I saw it, and it was pretty alive in Texas."
Quietly waiting for November.