WASHINGTON — Texas' prospects in a Senate cheese competition curdled on Wednesday afternoon, when Senate Republicans voted for Arkansas cheese dip over queso in a blind taste test.

Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas attempted to establish the dominance of Texas queso during a weekly meeting of Senate Republicans but were creamed in the competition. Although the two senators passed around chips and queso from Dallas' Uncle Julio's, cheese dip provided by Arkansas Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton proved more popular.

The senators, who each got one vote, were not told which cheesy topping was which until after the votes had been counted.

Cruz, whose love for cheese is well-documented, delivered a passionate soliloquy about the merits of the dairy product before the vote, and said there was no doubt that queso was superior to its Arkansas cousin.

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"Look, cheese dip can be served on a ritz cracker, or with one of those tiny Vienna sausages,” Cruz said. “Queso is made to be scooped up with tortilla chips, dribbling down your chin and onto your shirt. One is a visceral, emotional, powerful family bond, as you and your kids pour into nachos covered in queso. The other is party favors at an afternoon tea.”

Cruz and Cornyn made it clear they believe that queso is the best product, regardless of the outcome of Wednesday's vote. Cornyn also offered one theory to explain Texas' disappointing loss.

"The chile con queso from Texas may have a little bit of spice in it, and it may be a little too much for the tender palates here inside the beltway,” Cornyn said.

Despite Arkansas' victory, Boozman made it clear he hoped there would be no hard feelings.

“Ideally, cheese dip is not something that you want to be divisive," he told reporters before the vote. "You want to bring people together."

Although Cotton and Boozman had the cheese flown in from Little Rock for the occasion, Cotton himself was not present for the competition. His wife, Anna, is in labor with the couple's second child, according to an aide.

Cornyn said he didn't mind Cotton's absence, noting that the birth of a child was "the perfect excuse." Cruz took a slightly different perspective.

"It says something about Tom's fear of defending Arkansas cheese dip that he would plan, 10 months ago, to have the birth date precisely coincide," Cruz told reporters, laughing. "And just so he could not have the burden of having to defend the indefensible."

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The competition between the two states heated up last month, when The Wall Street Journal wrote an article about the popularity of Arkansas cheese dip.

"Arkansas cheese dip > Texas cheese dip," Cotton tweeted.

Cornyn quickly corrected him: "Queso, Tom," he wrote.