Beto O'Rourke vs. Ted Cruz: A campaign diary (January through April)

This campaign diary covers January 1, 2018 to April 30, 2018. Want to see the most up to date moves from Cruz and O'Rourke? Take a look here.

More: Beto O'Rourke vs. Ted Cruz: A campaign diary

AUSTIN — The battle for the U.S. Senate between Republican incumbent Ted Cruz and upstart Democrat Beto O'Rourke is already living up to its billing as the 2018 "marquee race in Texas."



Here's a look at campaign activity from January to April.

April

April 29, 2018

O'Rourke told reporters on Sunday that he is "a genuine, undecided, interested" voter when it comes to the Democratic runoff for the gubernatorial race between Lupe Valdez and Andrew White.

"A debate is owed to the people of Texas, if we're going to make an informed decision," O'Rourke said. "I, for one, would look forward to watching it and learning. I think it also generates some excitement."

Valdez and White will face off in the runoff election on May 22.

April 23, 2018

More on Cruz's write-up for Time praising President Trump.

Several pundits recalled that on the 2016 presidential campaign trail, Cruz called his then-rival "a sniveling coward" and "a serial philanderer."

CNN's Chris Cilliza in an essay called the piece an "embarassing ode" to the president and suggested Cruz's newfound affection for the fellow he only reluctantly endorsed in 2016 is why ordinary voters have turned cynical on politics.

Steve Schmidt, a longtime GOP operative and the manager of John McCain's presidential campaign, was far less subtle -- and all but endorsed Cruz's Democratic opponent this year in Texas.

"Thinking about Ted Cruz’s slobbering Paean to Trump and the closeness of his race to the exciting and decent Beto O’Rourke one thing should be clear to Texans," Schmidt said in a Twitter post that drew more than 32,000 "likes" in one hour. "If Ted Cruz won’t protect the backs of his Dad and wife he won’t have your back. I think Sam Houston would be for Beto!"

Another Twitter who identifies herself only as Joyce V said she liked Cruz's write-up.

"I always liked @tedcruz," Joyce V said. "He’s smart and knows how the #Swamp works. I wish the @realDonaldTrump would take advantage of the many #Tools Cruz has to bring to the battle‼️"

April 19, 2018

Cruz got a byline in TIME's Top 100 Most Influential People of 2018 by penning an entry about President Donald Trump.

In his piece, Cruz calls Trump "a flash-bang grenade thrown into Washington by the forgotten men and women of America" and said that the actions that "disoriented and distressed members of the media and political establishment" were all intentional.

He applauded the president for "doing what he was elected to do," which is disrupt the status quo.

"That scares the heck out of those who have controlled Washington for decades, but for millions of Americans, their confusion is great fun to watch," Cruz wrote.

TIME: Donald Trump, by Ted Cruz

April 18, 2018

A new Quinnipiac University Poll released Wednesday shows that the race for the U.S. Senate in Texas between Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke is "too close to call."

The poll found that 47 percent of adults surveyed were prepared to back Republican incumbent Cruz, while 44 percent supported O'Rourke, his Democratic challenger who represents El Paso in Congress.

More: Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke race 'too close to call', poll says

April 13, 2018

The Cruz campaign on Friday released its latest fundraising numbers saying the incumbent collected $3.22 million during the first quarter of 2018 and is sitting on a war chest of nearly $8.2 million heading toward the fall campaign.

The senator’s camp described the first-quarter haul as “a record amount for any GOP Senate candidate this cycle.”

The money-in-the-bank number bests that of O’Rourke. But the Democrat has bragging rights for the total amount collected between January and March 31. O’Rourke took in $6.7 million during the same period and has nearly $5 million cash on hand.

Just after the Cruz figures hit, O'Rourke announced that his cash-in-the-kitty amount has also hit the $8 million mark. The filings with the Federal Election Committee don't yet show the new totals. But here's the link to the federal site for fans who like to keep score at home.

April 10, 2018

Cruz grilled Facebook's chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg over the social media platform's political leanings during a congressional hearing with the tech executive.

It was the first of two hearings in Washington for Zuckerberg, who is testifying before Congress over claims that his company mishandled user data.

More: Republican US Sen. Ted Cruz says Cambridge Analytica told his campaign its data was legal

During his line of questioning, Cruz grilled Zuckerberg about the purpose of Facebook, asking whether it serves as a neutral public forum or a platform engaged in political speech.

"We consider ourselves to be a platform of all ideas," Zuckerberg said repeatedly to Cruz's questions. "There is certain content that clearly we do not allow: hate speech, terrorist content and nudity. From that perspective, that's why we generally try to refer to what we do as a platform for all ideas."

Cruz asked the Facebook executive to explain why there have been reported cases of the social networking website suppressing stories about Mitt Romney, Glenn Beck and other conservative figures.

"I will say there are a great many Americans who I think are deeply concerned that Facebook and other tech companies are engaged in a pervasive path of bias and political censorship," Cruz said.

Zuckerberg said Cruz's concerns were legitimate.

"I understand where that concern is coming from because Facebook and the tech industry are located in Silicon Valley, which is an extremely left-leaning place," he said. "This is a concern that I have and that I try to root out in the company, making sure that we don't have any bias in the work that we do."

You can watch the complete exchange here:

April 9, 2018

O'Rourke said he has seen enough evidence to support impeaching President Donald Trump during an interview with Chad Hasty on KFYO-AM in Lubbock.

"I've see an attempt, no matter how ham-handed, to collude with a foreign government in our national election," O'Rourke said. "I've seen an effort to obstruct justice in the investigation of what happened in the 2016 election."

"I don't think that President Trump has the fitness or confidence or judgement to be in that position," he said.

But O'Rourke said it is important to wait for all of the facts to emerge from special counsel Bob Mueller's investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

"Impeachment doesn't make any sense right now," O'Rourke said.

Cruz's campaign manager Jeff Roe criticized O'Rourke's statements on Twitter.

"This is what happens when your pursuit of small dollars overwhelms your pursuit of victory," he wrote. "Today will mark the best fundraising day of (O'Rourke's) campaign. It will also mark the moment when the 5% chance he had to win evaporated."

More: Beto O'Rourke says he would vote to impeach Trump

April 4, 2018

O'Rourke raised a record breaking $6.7 million during the first fundraising quarter of the year, according to his campaign.

His latest fundraising haul is more than any Senate candidate from Texas has raised in a single quarter and puts his total contributions for his Senate campaign to more than $13.2 million.

O'Rourke discussed his fundraising numbers and answered allegations made by Cruz during an interview with Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith on Wednesday. Read more here:

More: Beto O'Rourke raises record breaking $6.7M in campaign against Republican Ted Cruz

More: Beto O'Rourke responds to Ted Cruz campaign ad and clarifies stance on gun, taxes

April 2, 2018

STAFFORD — Four weeks after winning renomination, Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz formally launched his re-election campaign with a tour of Texas cities that started Monday, and with a new campaign slogan that both pays homage to his home state — and to himself.

On Monday night in the Houston suburb of Stafford, Cruz ended Day 1 of the tour with an energetic speech weaving together his boyhood idolization of legendary Texas heroes like David Crockett and William Barrett Travis with his admiration for modern Texans who stepped up when it counted.

Standing in front of a sign reading, "Ted Cruz — Tough as Texas," the first-term senator called attention to Houston furniture store owner Jim McIngvale, better known as Mattress Mack, who opened his showroom to last summer to people whose homes were ravaged by Hurricane Harvey.

"He fed them. He gave them a place to sleep," Cruz said from the dancehall stage ordinarily used by country singers. "That's Texas."

Cruz also singled out Stephen Willeford, the Sutherland Springs plumber who ran barefoot from his home carrying an AR-15 to exchange fire with Devin Patrick Kelley, whose rampage on Nov. 5 left dead 25 worshippers and an unborn baby inside a tiny Baptist church sanctuary. He called Willeford a hero, even though Willeford himself is uncomfortable with the description.

In a short interview after the rally, Willeford told the USA Today Network that beyond voting in nearly every election, he hasn't been particularly politically active until now.

"I'm a very conservative man," he said.

Since the shooting at his town's First Baptist Church, Willeford said he's had the opportunity to meet several elected officials, including Cruz and Texas' senior senator, John Cornyn.

He recalled a meeting with Cornyn when the subject turned to his own politics. "I may not agree with everyone (in the GOP) 110 percent," Willeford said. "But I didn't get to finish. What I was going to say was, 'I don't agree with everyone 110 percent — except Ted Cruz."



The tour continues Tuesday with stops in Corpus Christi, San Antonio and Austin.

March

March 29, 2018

O'Rourke spoke with labor leaders and African American Community Leaders in Houston on Wednesday as part of a campaign swing through the city.

U.S. Rep Joe Kennedy III, a Democrat from Massachusetts, joined O'Rourke in Houston and urged voters to give him their support. He also participated in a Facebook Live video, a staple of O'Rourke's campaign.

O'Rourke ended the night with a town hall meeting at Texas A&M, where more than 425 students and College Station came to hear the El Paso Democrat speak.

March 27, 2018

Cruz celebrated the Trump administration's decision to add a question about citizenship status to the 2020 U.S. Census, a decision that has been criticized by immigrant advocates.

"It is imperative that the data gathered in the census is reliable, given the wide ranging impacts it will have on U.S. policy," Cruz said in a statement. "A question on citizenship is a reasonable, commonsense addition to the census."

Cruz said he and two Republican colleagues in the Senate submitted a letter asking for the question to be added, so the government could "gather more accurate data on the number of U.S. citizens living in the country."

Immigrant advocates and some Democratic lawmakers, including O'Rourke, said adding the question could undercount communities with high immigrant populations, because people will be scared to come forward and be counted.

In a statement criticizing the move O'Rourke said undercounting populations puts communities in danger of losing federal dollars for health care, public education, disaster relief and other programs.

"Beyond these decade-long impacts on Texas families, it will also work in tandem with gerrymandering to erode the voting rights of those in our state and threaten our representation in the Federal government," he said in a statement.

March 26, 2018

Cruz, who has already won renomination, is officially kicking off his re-election campaign Monday, April 2, at the Redneck Country Club in the Houston suburb of Stafford.

Meanwhile, an Austin O'Rourke supporter had a little fun at Cruz's expense heading into last weekend when she met the Republican senator and asked him to pose for a photo.

He obliged. And when they smiled for the camera, she made visible the sign that had been hidden under her sport coat.

March 23, 2018

O'Rourke has his work cut out for him in his general election bid.

As he prepares to take on Cruz in the general election, political experts said he needs to use results from the Democratic primary to inform his campaign.

They said he will have to work harder to increase his name recognition, persuade some moderate Republicans to choose him over Cruz and inspire higher turnout among voters in border counties and big Texas cities.

More: Texas primary results show challenges Beto O'Rourke must overcome in race against Ted Cruz

March 20, 2018

12:15 p.m. CST

Cruz and O’Rourke both offered prayers for Austin, after explosions in Texas’ capital city have killed two people and wounded four more.

Cruz thanked law enforcement officials working on the case. About 500 federal, state and local law enforcement officials were working on the case as of Monday, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

"We remain grateful for our law enforcement officials working around the clock to identify and bring the perpetrator or perpetrators to justice, and their dedicated efforts to keep Austinites safe and secure,” Cruz said on Facebook, adding that he was prepared to “assist and advocate for the resources needed in this investigation.”

O’Rourke also commended law enforcement and urged residents to stay vigilant and report suspicious activity to law enforcement.

"At a moment like this, I’m thinking of the Austin I know,” O’Rourke wrote in a Medium post. "The city that has welcomed us with open arms over the last year. A strong, united, big-hearted community that’s always there for one another."

More: Package explodes at Texas FedEx facility, likely linked to Austin serial bomber

12 p.m. CST

Cruz has come under fire this week for his 2016 presidential campaign’s involvement with Cambridge Analytica, a data firm facing questions over its controversial methods.

Facebook last week announced that it was suspending Cambridge Analytica from the social media platform after reports revealed that it improperly collected personal information from more than 50 million users on the site without their knowledge.

Cruz’s presidential campaign relied on the firm for information throughout his 2016 campaign, a relationship that Texas Democrats have criticized Cruz for.

“Ted Cruz will stop at nothing to weasel his way into power, even if it means weaponizing stolen information to manipulate people to like him,” said Manny Garcia, the party’s executive director, in a statement.

Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said the firm told the campaign the data it used was collected legally.

"In explicit contractual language, Cambridge Analytica affirmatively represented that all data used by them were obtained legally, that they would conduct their operations 'in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations,' and that they 'hold all necessary permits, licenses and consents to conduct its operations’,” she said in a statement to the Texas Tribune. "The campaign relied upon those representations throughout our engagement, which were reiterated by Cambridge Analytica upon inquiries of the media back in 2015, when they assured us the claims made in the press were false.”

O’Rourke took a jab at Cruz on Twitter over his involvement with the company.

"We also wanted to know what was on Texans’ minds,” he said on Twittter. "So we've been showing up and asking them in person at hundreds of town halls across the state."

March 17, 2018

O’Rourke stuck fast to his campaign talking points during an appearance on "Real Time with Bill Maher” on Friday, outlining his pledge not to accept PAC money and discussing Texas’ tendency not to turn out to vote.

But the Democrat broke from his tradition of not attacking Cruz’s personality when he agreed with the comedian host's assessment that Cruz is “a giant a--hole.”

During an exchange about O’Rourke’s plan to take-on Cruz in the deep red state, the El Pasoan described the fundraising success his campaign has had while refusing to accept money from political action committees.

“In this campaign, we have outraised Ted Cruz by well more than $1 million, by not taking a dime from PACs — all people, human beings,” O’Rourke said.

Maher interjected: “Well don’t forget he’s a giant a--hole.”

“That’s true,” O’Rourke said, before quickly returning to his original message. “Folks will never have to wonder who it is I represent or who I’m voting for. It’s going to be the people of Texas every single time.”

Maher also asked O’Rourke about his stance on legalizing marijuana, adding that he had made several trips to Texas for comedy and “Texas knows how to party.”

O’Rourke smiled and said he supported legislation to end the federal prohibition of marijuana, adding that “we should control and regulate its sale."

March 16, 2018

Reverberations from the first political ad of the campaign are still being felt more than a week later, as Cruz took to Twitter this week to defend his 60-second radio ad.

The ad — a jingle that warns O'Rourke "If you're gonna run in Texas, you can't be a liberal man" — says that O'Rourke wants to take people's guns and he wants an open border.

PolitiFact Texas investigated the truthfulness of the claims from the song and determined that the statements about O'Rourke's stance on border security and guns were false, a finding the Democrat shared on Twitter.

Cruz was quick to respond.

"Classic Politi-“fact”: they conclude YES Beto opposes border wall & wants less border security & YES he wants to ban the most popular rifles in America but — bc we’re lefty journalists — that doesn’t mean he supports open borders or wants to take our guns," he wrote on Twitter. "Texans might disagree."

O'Rourke is also trying to capitalize on the ad — particularly the section that calls him out for going by a nickname instead of his given name Robert.

His campaign unveiled new T-shirts that bear a resemblance to one O'Rourke wore as a child. He shared the photo with his followers after Cruz publicized his ad.

Check it out: O'Rourke's vintage tees

More: Stephen Colbert and the internet react to nickname feud between Beto O'Rourke and Ted Cruz

March 7, 2018

With the primary elections behind them, Cruz and O'Rourke are now officially their respective party's nominee for November's U.S. Senate race.

Some experts believe the contest could be the most competitive U.S. Senate race Texas has seen in 15 years.

Cruz has the luxury of running as a Republican in one of the most Republican states in the nation. But during the primary, the lesser-known O'Rourke embraced a go anywhere, speak to everyone strategy that helped fuel a surge in fundraising with numbers that bested Cruz in all but one reporting period.

Read more about the road ahead for both candidates:

More: Ted Cruz vs. Beto O'Rourke: Showdown set after Texas Primary Election

March 6, 2018

9:30 p.m CST

Cruz unveiled the first ad of his general election campaign on Tuesday, once it became clear that he would face off with O'Rourke in November.

He shared a 60-second country jingle directed at O'Rourke that warns, "If you're going to run in Texas, you can't be a liberal, man."

The radio ad goes on to say that O'Rourke "wants to take our guns," but he won't be successful because "liberal thought is not the spirit of a Lone Star man."

It also mocked O'Rourke, whose given name is Robert O'Rourke, for going by Beto.

"I remember reading stories, liberal Robert wanting to fit in," the ad says. "So he changed his name to Beto and hid it with a grin."

Cruz also uses a nickname for his given name, Rafael Edward Cruz.

O'Rourke shared a photo of himself as a youngster on Wednesday, sporting a shirt with his name: "Beto."

5:50 p.m. CST

The general election campaign won't be a game of political patty-cake, if the preview Cruz offered Texas reporters more than an hour before the polls closed on Primary Election Day is any indication.

In a conference call, the incumbent Republican repeatedly called O'Rourke a "liberal Democrat" aligned with Bernie Sanders and other left of center Washington figures. Cruz warned that O'Rourke would be squishy on gun rights and welcoming to undocumented border-crossers.

He said O'Rourke's supporters are motivated by "left-wing range."

In a call later with the USA Today Network, O'Rourke scoffed at the suggestion that his supporters are motivated by rage. Instead, he said, those attending his town hall meet-and-greets are happy to see a candidate forgoing money from "PACs, super PACs and special interests.

He also said he's eager to debate Cruz, but wants the face-offs to be in English and Spanish so all voters can hear the candidates' views.

Here's a blow-by-blow of both conversations with the candidates:

10 a.m. CST

Cruz does not appear to be concerned about the outcome of his primary race, but he also doesn't sound like someone who is heading to the fall with the air of overconfidence.

Speaking this morning conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt, the first-term GOP incumbent did warn his supporters that complacency could be fatal for his chances to winNovember.

"We know the left is going to show up," Cruz said. "The extreme left, they're angry. They're filled with rage. They hate the president. And mark my words, we are going to see historic turnout from the extreme left in November.

"In Texas, if conservatives stay home, if we rest on our laurels," he added, "we could see Texas turn blue."

Cruz also noted that because the economy is expanding, Republicans this year could actually buck the trend of the in-power-party suffering losses in midterm elections.

"If conservatives show up, we could have a terrific election," he said.

March 4, 2018

Citing the Democratic early-vote surge, NBC News' Chuck Todd boarded the national media bandwagon that Texas' ruby-red Republican reputation could morph toward purple in November.

On a segment of Sunday morning's Meet the Press, Todd said the Democratic early vote numbers in Texas' 15 largest counties could boost O'Rourke in his battle against Cruz once Tuesday's primaries officially set the U.S. Senate race.

Like many of the network pundits who are just now sharpening their focus on the Lone Star State's political landscape, Todd mispronounced the El Paso congressman's nickname as BATE-oh, instead of the proper BET-oh.

But Todd's larger point was that if early voting is a guide for the turnout in the general election eight months from now, Texas Democrats could pick off Republican seats in Congress and the statehouse, regardless of whether O'Rourke actually unseats the better-known Cruz.

Will Texas be in play for the out-of-power party this fall? Todd wondered, and then answered his own rhetorical question: "I have a hunch it will be."

Check out the segment:

February

Feb. 28, 2018

CNN's politics team downgraded Texas' Senate race from "Solid Republican" to "Likely Republican," indicating that O'Rourke a "fighter's chance" against incumbent Cruz come November.

O'Rourke took to Twitter to celebrate the new race designation, sharing a clip of news anchors discussing the change.

"Beto O'Rourke is giving Ted Cruz a run for his money in the Texas Senate contest," wrote Terence Burlij and Eric Bradner for CNN.

Senate Key Race alert:: Texas is no longer Solid Republican

Feb. 26, 2018

4 p.m. CST

Cruz broke with his tradition of largely ignoring O'Rourke's campaign when he tweeted a response to a post that the Democrat shared on Twitter.

"Elections are about choices," Cruz wrote, looking to draw a comparison between himself and O'Rourke when it comes to gun rights.

3:30 p.m. CST

Cruz is an unabashed aficionado of The Simpsons, but the head writer of the long-running animated sitcom made it clear the admiration is pretty much a one-way street.

Appearing at the last week's CPAC conference, Cruz used the current debate over whether more gun legislation is needed to liken the Democratic Party to Lisa Simpson, the over-achieving daughter of Homer and Marge because of an episode where Lisa lectures her father on nuances of the Second Amendment.

"I think the Democrats are the party of Lisa Simpson and the Republicans are, happily, the party of Homer and Bart and Maggie and Marge," Cruz told attendees at CPAC, which stands for Conservative Political Action Committee.

Writer Al Jean fired back a tweet noting that Maggie's character has been an infant during the show's decades-long run.

As a fan of The Simpsons, Cruz is likely familiar with the prescient episode from 2011 that looks into the future where an all-grown-up Lisa is "America's first straight female president" and she complains about the mess her predecessor had left her.

"As you know," she tells aides huddled around her desk in the Oval Office, we've inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump."

11 a.m. CST

Over the weekend, Cruz took a jab at O'Rourke during a visit to El Paso — the Democrat's hometown.

Cruz, the keynote speaker at the El Paso County Republican Party's 31st Annual Lincoln Day Dinner, said Republicans need to vote this year to "keep Texas bright, bright red."

"And any unemployed Democrats are welcome to join a rock band," he said.

O'Rourke's past as a member of the punk rock band Foss has been noted frequently in media reports since he announced his campaign for the U.S. Senate. Rolling Stone dubbed O'Rourke "Cruz's Punk-Rock Problem."

Cruz has largely ignored O'Rourke's campaign. His comments in El Paso were a rare public acknowledgement of O'Rourke's existence.

More: Sen. Ted Cruz speaks about Beto O'Rourke challenge at GOP Lincoln Day Dinner in El Paso

Feb. 24, 2018

Cruz's campaign raised $800,000 during the first weeks of 2018, a far cry from the $2.2 million collected by O'Rourke during the same period.

Both Cruz and O'Rourke are expected to win their respective primaries come March 6, and face off against each other in the general election.

Although the El Paso Democrat raised almost three times what incumbent Cruz raised during this latest reporting period, there are still eight months of fundraising to go before Texans will be asked to choose between them and Cruz has not ramped up campaign efforts.

More: Beto O'Rourke raises $2.2 million for Senate race in 1st weeks of 2018

O'Rourke has been traveling the state since announcing his campaign, hosting town halls at coffee shops with a handful of attendees and theaters with hundreds of attendees.

Cruz has been slower to start campaigning, but has made several visits to Texas on behalf of other Republican candidates. He's also offered endorsements in some races for seats in the state legislature.

Heading into the primary election, Cruz has $6 million on hand and O'Rourke has $4.9 million.

Catherine Frazier, a spokeswoman for Cruz's campaign, credited U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, with O'Rourke's fundraising success.

She said Schumer came to Texas early in the campaign and "did a great job" motivating Democratic voters.

"We don't believe that's the direction Texans want and are confident this will energize them to ensure they turn out to vote for someone who wants to keep taxes low, keep repealing regulations including Obamacare, and uphold the Texas values that have made and kept our state strong," Fraizer said in a statement.

This isn't the first time the El Paso Democrat has outraised Cruz. O'Rourke posted strong fundraising numbers during the first quarter of the campaign, raising $2.1 million to Cruz's $1.6 million.

O'Rourke also outraised Cruz between October and December, with $2.4 million in contributions. Cruz collected $1.9 million.

Cruz came out ahead of O'Rourke between July and September, with $2 million to O'Rourke's $1.7 million.

“It’s the people in every community of Texas stepping up like never before by knocking doors, walking blocks and pitching in that five, ten, fifteen bucks to not only make this race possible, but to win it come November,” O’Rourke said in a statement earlier this month.

More: Margo offers no endorsements for O'Rourke, El Paso congressional candidates

Feb. 19, 2018

Tuesday is the first day of early voting in Texas' primary elections. New University of Texas/Texas Tribune polls show that Cruz and O'Rourke will almost certainly be their respective party's nominee for November's general election.

Cruz has the support of 91 percent of people polled, with the remaining Republicans collecting between 3 and 1 percent of support each. Bruce Jacobson Jr., Mary Mill, Geraldine Sam and Stefano de Stefano are all running as Republicans.

O'Rourke is well above the other two Democrats in the running, collecting support from 73 percent of those polled. Sema Hernandez got 19% of those polled and Edward Kimbrough got 8 percent.

More: What you need to know about the March primary election in Texas

Feb. 16, 2018

O'Rourke raised $2.2 million during the first 44 days of 2018, his campaign announced on Friday.

Cruz has not announced his fundraising for this time period yet. Reports on the numbers are due to the Federal Election Commission on Feb. 22.

The latest round of contributions reported by O'Rourke, collected between Jan. 1 and Wednesday, yielded more money than two of his previous, three-month-long fundraising periods.

More: Beto O'Rourke raises $2.2 million for Senate race in 1st weeks of 2018

O'Rourke got an addtional boost on Friday when the state's largest labor group switched from no endorsement in the Senate race to backing the Democratic challenger.

"In the last few weeks, Beto O'Rourke has crisscrossed the state, talking to our members and answering tough questions about where he stands on key issues for working people," Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy said. "His answers to those questions, as well as his strong labor voting record, have demonstrated that he shares our priorities and values. We believe those priorities and values will inform his service as a U.S. senator."

Cruz meanwhile, was also getting some high-profile attention heading into the weekend. The state's junior senator will join Vice President Mike Pence on a tour of the U.S-Mexico border in the Rio Grande Valley on Friday afternoon.

In a statement later, Cruz said the meetings and tour were worthwhile.

“I am grateful for the productive conversations we have had today," he said in a news release. "The overwhelming majority of Texans want to see the border secured, our Border Patrol agents supported, and legal immigration championed.”

More: Texas AFL-CIO declines to endorse O'Rourke after he misses convention

Feb. 15, 2018

The chief of the largest municipal police force in Texas called out Sen. Cruz over the immigration issue Wednesday by using their shared Cuban heritage to make his point.

"With all due respect @tedcruz, members of your family fled Communist Cuba, I & my family fled Communist Cuba, & Cubans are the first boat people of the modern era; was it ok for us but not for dreamers?" Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo tweeted to the first-term Republican. "We need to stand up for dreamers with record of being responsible."

That tweet and another like it followed Cruz's own post about why earlier in the week he was the only senator to vote against opening debate on what could become sweeping immigration reform legislation. Cruz on Wednesday posted a link to an article on The Right Scoop, a conservative blog, that praised his lone No vote.

Cruz's tweet highlighted the statement his spokeswoman Catherine Frazier offered up to The Right Scoop:

“Sen. Cruz believes it would be a serious mistake for Congress to pass legislation that grants a path to citizenship for those here illegally. Such a policy is inconsistent with the promises that he and Republicans have made to the voters, and is in fact further to the left of President Obama’s position.”

Thursday morning on Fox News, Cruz doubled down on his opposition to the legislation.

"If Republican majorities in Congress pass citizenship for millions of people, an amnesty, I think it is quite likely we will lose both houses of Congress," he said, adding that the news Democratic majority would then move to impeach President Donald Trump.

More News:

O'Rourke outraises Cruz in last fundraising period of 2017

State Rep. Joe Moody joins Beto O'Rourke's US Senate campaign team

Latest Cash on Hand:

Ted Cruz: $6.4 million

Beto O'Rourke: $4.6 million

Latest Polls:

Jan. 2018: End Citizens United, a left-leaning campaign finance reform group, conducted a poll that puts O'Rourke within single digits of Cruz, with 45 percent of respondents saying they would vote for Cruz and 37 percent for O'Rourke. Eighteen percent were undecided.

End Citizens United, a left-leaning campaign finance reform group, conducted a poll that puts O'Rourke within single digits of Cruz, with 45 percent of respondents saying they would vote for Cruz and 37 percent for O'Rourke. Eighteen percent were undecided. Dec. 2017 : An GOP study released by Cruz's campaign shows him The poll showed that 52 percent of respondents would vote for Cruz and 34 percent for O'Rourke. Thirteen percent were undecided.

: An GOP study released by Cruz's campaign shows him The poll showed that 52 percent of respondents would vote for Cruz and 34 percent for O'Rourke. Thirteen percent were undecided. Oct. 2017: A University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll showed that Cruz is better known than O'Rourke by Texas voters, with 69 percent saying they either had no opinion of the El Paso Democrat or do not know him. Seventeen percent said the same of Cruz.

Feb. 13, 2018

The U.S. Senate late Monday acted with near unanimity to open debate on long-stalled legislation to address immigration reform and perhaps even a solution for the so-called Dreamers whose undocumented parents took them into the United States as children.

The decision was only nearly unanimous because Cruz was the only senator from either party to vote against the motion to allow the debate to move forward. Here's USA Today's report.

O'Rourke, meanwhile, was hopscotching Texas with appearances Monday in San Antonio, San Marcos and some Hill Country communities. In San Antonio, according to local media reports, the Democrat was introduced by Congressman Joaquin Castro, who nearly a year ago opted out of making a run at challenging Cruz and left the Democratic field open for O'Rourke.

"Texans are hungry for a new senator — somebody who represents the voice of all Texans," Castro said. "Somebody who's going to create more jobs, make sure people have access to health care, that their kids are going to good schools."

Feb. 12, 2018

Republican incumbent Ted Cruz over the weekend was sounding anything but overconfident about the upcoming campaign.

"Let me tell you right now: The left is going to show up," Cruz told a friendly audience at a GOP event in Fort Bend County. "They will crawl over broken glass in November to vote."

The remark was reported by the Texas Tribune. He expanded on the theme in a Q&A with reporters later where he acknowledged Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke's fundraising prowess.

"It’s true my Democratic opponent is raising a lot of money," Cruz said. "We’re not going to take it for granted. That’s a manifestation of the energy on the extreme left."

O'Rourke, meanwhile, is holding public town halls this week in San Marcos, the Hill Country town of Boerne, and San Antonio and Edinburg. His schedule is on the Events page of his campaign website.

Feb. 9, 2018

President Donald Trump signed a $400 billion budget deal on Friday morning, reopening the federal government from its partial shutdown.

The Senate voted to approve the measure at 2 a.m. and the House gave its okay to the measure early this morning.

Both Cruz and O’Rourke voted for the deal in their respective chambers, which will let Congress increase defense spending by $165 billion and removes budget caps intended to reduce the federal deficit. It would also provide disaster relief funding for Texas and other areas hit hard by recent natural disasters.

More: Government shutdown ends with Trump signature on spending bill

Cruz said in a statement that supporting the measure was a difficult decision, in part because of the impact it could have on the deficit.

"After much consideration, I will reluctantly vote for this legislation,” Cruz said in a statement. "This bill contains major victories; if hurricane relief and restoring vital defense spending were the only elements of this bill, I would be supporting it energetically and enthusiastically. Unfortunately—in addition to funding those critical priorities—this bill also unnecessarily balloons the deficit.”

Read More: Sen. Cruz Issues Statement on the Senate’s Budget Agreement

O’Rourke said the deal represents “a real breakthrough for Congress,” because of its bipartisan support. He said the proposal is particularly important for members of the country’s armed forces.

“Knowing that the government of their country is functioning, that it has not shut down and that there is certainty now for the next two years, that the pentagon can make smart investments for the readiness and training for those service members is critically important,” O’Rourke said in an interview.

O’Rourke said he was hesitant to support the bill because there was no agreement made with Republicans on the future of “Dreamers,” immigrants who qualify for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.

More: U.S. Rep. Will Hurd files 'narrow and bipartisan' bill to protect DACA participants

DACA was an Obama-era policy that protected immigrants brought to the country illegally as children from deportation. Trump moved to end the program last year, calling for Congress to find a legislative fix for the estimated 800,000 people nationwide whose applications for the program have been approved. A fix for the program has been caught up in recent congressional fights and led to a brief government shutdown in January.

"I think the decision for many of us was whether voting no on this imperfect but important budget deal was going to help us get to protection and potentially citizenship for Dreamers,” O’Rourke said. "I just could not see how shutting down the government makes things better.”

More: Trump pushes four-pillar immigration plan in first State of the Union

Feb. 8, 2018

O'Rourke picked up an endorsement from the National Education Association, which decided to support the Democrat on the recommendation of the Texas State Teachers Association, its Texas affiliate.

“Beto O’Rourke is the only candidate in the race committed to giving all Texas school children an opportunity to succeed,” said TSTA President Noel Candelaria in a statement. “In the Senate, Beto will continue working to assure that teachers have the resources and the professional freedom they need to teach to the child and not to the test.”

Feb. 7, 2018

El Paso Mayor Dee Margo declined to endorse O'Rourke during an interview with Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith in El Paso.

Margo said O'Rourke would "do a great job" if elected, but he is not endorsing any candidates up for election. Margo has contributed to O'Rourke's congressional campaign in the past.

Margo, who previously represented El Paso in the legislature as a Republican, added that he was concerned with recent rhetoric he has seen from Cruz and how it reflects on the border community he serves.

"I want people effective for and recognizing El Paso and sometimes the rhetoric of their comments works to the detriment of this community and I’ve got a real heartburn issue with that," Margo said.

More: Margo offers no endorsements for O'Rourke, El Paso congressional candidates

Feb. 7, 2018

Republican Cruz in recent public statements and news releases is presenting himself as an on-the-job incumbent to counter Democratic challenger O'Rourke's strategy of pressing the flesh in towns big and small across Texas.

Through his official Senate office, Cruz on Wednesday issued two news releases within 15 minutes of each other touting Republican-friendly themes.

First, he polished his law-and-order bona fides by announcing that he signed onto a bill that would give prosecutors in federal capital murder cases two tries to obtain a death sentence from a jury. The bill is in response to a case involving a the murder of a correctional officer in a federal lockup in Pennsylvania.

The trial jury voted 11-1 for a death sentence, but a unanimous vote was required. "By allowing federal prosecutors to impanel a second jury for the sentencing phase of a federal death penalty case, we can prevent further miscarriages of justice," Cruz said.

Later, speaking in Washington, D.C., to the Texas Water Conservation Association, Cruz promised to work with the Trump administration to further reduce federal regulatory burdens.

"As I talk with Texas business leaders, every one of them describes a fundamentally different attitude of federal regulators not viewing them as the enemy, or trying to stop and stifle new businesses and job creation," he told the group.

January

Jan. 30, 2018

After President Donald Trump's first State of the Union address, Cruz and O'Rourke emerged with conflicting take-aways.

The Democrat fired up his cellphone camera and used Facebook's live video feature to share his thoughts and field questions from his followers. The Republican turned up on Fox News.

On immigration, Cruz said, Trump's plan is "way to the left of Obama." O'Rourke called the proposal, which includes construction of a border wall, limiting family migration and ending the U.S. visa lottery system, “the most negative, terrible part of the speech."

More: Trump pushes four-pillar immigration plan in first State of the Union

O'Rourke's campaign sent out a fundraising call the following day, highlighting O'Rourke's guest at the address: a woman named Daisy who was brought to the United States before she was 2-years-old.

"I'm so proud to know Daisy, and I will fight every single day to ensure she and hundreds of thousands like her are able to stay here, in this country, to which they have already contributed so much," O'Rourke wrote in the note.

Inside the chamber during the president's speech, Cruz joined with Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar of Laredo in playing host to Sutherland Springs hero Stephen Willeford and his wife, Pam.

Jan. 29, 2018

O'Rourke has added a familiar El Paso face to his Senate campaign: State Rep. Joe Moody.

Moody, who is serving his fourth term in the Legislature, will be the statewide political director for O'Rourke.

More: State Rep. Joe Moody joins Beto O'Rourke's US Senate campaign

Jan. 28, 2018

O'Rourke, like any Texas Democrat in a statewide race, is considered an underdog in the campaign. But he's raising money like a favorite. During the final three months of 2017, the El Pasoan collected $2.4 million to Cruz's $1.9 million.

For all of 2017, Cruz received more contributions than O'Rourke, collecting $7.1 million. O'Rourke, who entered the race in March, raised $6.4 million last year.

Since Cruz has been a U.S. senator for nearly six years, he's had a significant head start on top challenger when it comes to taking in money.

Even though Cruz trailed O'Rourke by about a half-million during the final three months of 2017, he began 2018 with $7.2 million in the bank. O'Rourke had $4.6 million.

More: O'Rourke outraises Cruz in last fundraising period of 2017

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Madlin Mekelburg and John C. Moritz are reporters with the USA Today Network Austin Bureau. Madlin can be reached at 512-479-6606; mmekelburg@elpasotimes.com; @madlinbmek on Twitter. John can be reached at John.Moritz@caller.com or on Twitter @JohnnieMo.