Texas senator Ted Cruz was having none of horror writer Stephen King’s support of his Democratic Senate challenger Beto O’Rourke on Wednesday, dropping a blistering counterpunch, broadly inspired by King’s own writing.
“Limousine liberal @StephenKing preaching socialism (but not his millions!) to Texas is pretty scary,” said Cruz. “Kinda like Carrie riding Cujo, chopping through a door with an ax and saying “heeeeeeeeere’s……..Johnny!”
Limousine liberal @StephenKing preaching socialism (but not his millions!) to Texas is pretty scary, kinda like Carrie riding Cujo, chopping through a door with an ax and saying “heeeeeeeeere’s……..Johnny!” https://t.co/6iKQ61Fmqd
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 11, 2018
King, an outspoken liberal and critic of President Trump on Twitter, stirred Cruz’s ire after lending lend his support to O’Rourke in a tweet on Tuesday.
“Hey, Texas! I suppose you’re going to re-elect Ted Cruz, but I hope you don’t,” he said. “Beto O’Rourke is mega-cool. Smart, too. Also, jeez, do we have to look at Ted for another six years? The mind reels.”
Hey, Texas! I suppose you're going to re-elect Ted Cruz, but I hope you don't. Beto O'Rourke is mega-cool. Smart, too. Also, jeez, do we have to look at Ted for another six years? The mind reels.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) July 10, 2018
Despite the breezy self confidence, Cruz has some reason to worry about his Democratic challenger. The bruising 2016 presidential primary with Trump scarred the Texas Republican among his core constituency and the latest polls in the race show O’Rourke within single digits of the incumbent.
With its rising population of hispanic voters, Texas has long been viewed as a dream state by Democrats looking to capitalize on demographic changes which (conventional wisdom) says should favor them. During the 2016 election, there was even breathless hope that Hillary Clinton would snatch the state away from Donald Trump.