Ted Cruz Says Beto O’Rourke Is A ‘Top 10’ Contender For Dems In 2020

Senator Ted Cruz, who is running for reelection in Texas, is taking another dig at his opponent, Beto O’Rourke. Cruz is telling Texans that if they elect the Democrat, O’Rourke would promptly leave office to run for president in 2020, leaving them in the lurch.

The Hill reports that Cruz has been tweeting that O’Rourke is a “top 10” contender to run for the Democratic nomination in 2020.

“Beto is already in top 10 Dem contenders for 2020, behind Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris & Spartacus. The further left he runs, the higher up he climbs. But do socialism, open borders, impeachment & angry leftist mobs really reflect common sense values of Texans?”

Beto O’Rourke has stated that he has no interest in running for president in 2020. On the other hand, Cruz has already run for president in the past — but it’s unclear if he intends to run again.

Cruz is feeling the heat as the race keeps getting closer, and O’Rourke has out-fundraised him by $25 million since July. Currently, Cruz is leading by an average of 7 points. As the election date closes in, the two men are planning to debate each other live on CNN.

Oh, Donnie, another swing and a miss. https://t.co/N9yXavC8uU

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) October 15, 2018

Ted Cruz has been partnering with one-time adversary Donald Trump Jr. at speaking engagements to get in a few other swipes at O’Rourke. Trump Jr. has mocked O’Rourke’s nickname by saying that the Democrat is attempting to fool people into believing that he is Hispanic, according to the Huffington Post. The younger Trump has suggested that O’Rourke has an “authenticity problem.”

“What’s authentic about an Irish guy pretending to be Hispanic? Asking for some friends Texas.”

Cruz has run ads mocking O’Rourke’s nickname — “Beto” — which is short for Robert.

“If you are going to run in Texas, you can’t be a liberal man. I remember reading stories, liberal Robert wanted to fit in. So he changed his name to Beto and hid it with a grin.”

But critics of Cruz are calling foul on the nickname game — as Ted Cruz was born Rafael Edward Cruz in Calgary, Alberta, Canada — says The Dallas News. O’Rourke says that “Beto” has always been his nickname, and produced a preschool photo featuring himself as a 4-year-old. In the photograph, O’Rourke is wearing a sweater that reads “Beto.”

Supporters of O’Rourke added that while Cruz boasts that he’s the son of a Cuban immigrant while stumping in Texas, only one candidate in the race for a Senate seat speaks fluent Spanish — and it’s not Cruz.

Even Ted Cruz has admitted that he was not known as Ted until he was in his late teens, having grown tired of being mocked for his former nickname, “Felito.”

“The problem with that name was that it seemed to rhyme with every major corn chip on the market. Fritos, Cheetos, Doritos, and Tostitos — a fact that other young children were quite happy to point out. My father was furious with the decision. He viewed it as a rejection of him and his heritage, which was not my intention.”