Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) office on Tuesday announced the senator will launch a new headquarters for his “Saving Texas” initiative following major losses in his state during last week’s midterm elections.
In a statement from Cruz released by his communications director on X, the senator said a Cruz-aligned nonprofit office will open in the state capital, Austin, to establish Republican infrastructure designed to win future elections.
“Texas is my home. It’s where I’ve raised my family, where I’ve fought for conservative principles, and where I’ve had the extraordinary honor of representing 32 million Texans in the United States Senate,” his statement said.
Efforts would include “recruiting strong candidates who share our principles, rebuilding the grassroots infrastructure that has powered Republican victories for decades, and raising the resources necessary to compete in every corner of our state.”
Cruz is now one of the few statewide elected GOP officials in the state after Democrats were able to capture the governor’s office, replace the lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, and one seat on the railroad commission, and win a U.S. Senate seat during the Nov. 3 election.
Democrat James Talarico won against his GOP opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, during the election, becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate seat for the state since 1988.
Meanwhile, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in the gubernatorial race, becoming the first member of her party to win that race since Democrat Ann Richards won in 1990.
The day after the election, Cruz wrote in an X post that in light of the historic sweep, Republicans must refocus their messaging and policies around the U.S. economy.
Voters “were pissed off” because “Republicans didn’t do enough to address their very real pain,” he said, naming tariffs and the Iran war as reasons for why voters turned against the GOP.
“Food is too high, gas is too high, diesel is too high, insurance is too high, life is too high,” Cruz said, adding: “Too many Republican politicians seem like they didn’t understand or they didn’t care.”
Cruz, who isn’t up for reelection until 2030, added that he was “for weeks” warning on his podcast “that we were in very real danger of losing everything in Texas. Far too few believed that was possible.”
The Democratic Party’s wins in Texas were part of a broader Democratic rout in Republican-leaning states including Kansas, Ohio, Iowa, and others.
Despite a rising stock market, inflation remains relatively high, and fuel prices have also remained elevated throughout the Iran war, although the price for regular gasoline has dropped in recent days.
In Congress, Republicans on Tuesday voted in their leadership elections, opting to keep Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) as the GOP leader in the upper chamber. In the House, Republicans voted to elect Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as their leader.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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