Texas GOP Primary Results: Ted Cruz Will Win, Ushering in a New Conservative Wave

Impact

In a Texas-sized political battle, the day of reckoning is finally here for the Senate GOP primary run-off election in the Lone Star State. The two Republicans slugging it out are Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst and former Solicitor General Ted Cruz.

No matter which television channel you turn to in Texas, political ads blaze the airways with both candidates throwing blows at each other. Similar to the hype regarding Governor Scott Walker's recall election win last month, many consider this Texas race to have national implications because the newcomer and Tea Party Conservative, Ted Cruz, is likely to beat an established politician, David Dewhurst.

If you check out the endorsements for Cruz and Dewhurst, there is a sharp divide between the national supporters for Cruz and state supporters for Dewhurst. This division has led to the gloves coming off for the candidates because each claim they have an advantage over the other.

What is less revealing of these supporters is that Dewhurst has been lieutenant governor since 2003, and therefore known more by state policymakers. On the other hand, the tide against establishment candidates is running high in Texas and around the country, so national policymakers are trying to get behind Cruz to indicate that they are serious about making real reforms and backing conservative principles.   

With the help of the Tea Party and the support of well-liked national candidates in Texas, there is little doubt that Cruz will win today's run-off election. His support of repealing Obamacare, reforming the tax code to a flat tax or the FairTax, passing a balanced budget amendment, and other plans to get the government out of the way and release the entrepreneurial spirit of free enterprise to grow our economy are reasons why he earned my vote.

I suspect that the national implications of a Cruz victory are overblown, but it would seem to suggest that the days of Republican establishment politicians with few guiding principles of limited government are (hopefully) outdated. This showdown may end today in Texas, but for those of us who advocate liberty and freedom, there is more work to do.