Cruz: Texas 'Needs a Fighter' In US Senate Race
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Tea party favorite Ted Cruz has told the state Republican Convention that the race for Texas' open U.S. Senate seat will test the question, "Do grassroots matter?"
The former state solicitor general said Saturday that his July 31 runoff with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst should continue the tea party "tidal wave" that began in 2010.
A Cuban-American attorney with a fiery, populist style, Cruz is locked in a fierce battle for the Republican nomination to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Dewhurst, who has been lieutenant governor since 2003, is the establishment GOP choice.
The pair face a runoff after neither won a majority of the votes cast during last month's primary.
Cruz said Dewhurst deserves respect for his long record of service, but "we need a fighter."
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
