Texas Gov. Rick Perry sent congratulations to Ted Cruz last night, after the Tea Party-backed Republican defeated Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in the Senate runoff.

STORY: Ted Cruz wins divisive Texas GOP runoff

From Perry's post on Twitter:

Congrats to Ted Cruz and his organization. That was an amazing race! #strongerthangarlic God Bless Texas!

The Houston Chronicle reports Cruz's drubbing of Dewhurst, lieutenant governor since 2003, is an "embarrassment" for Perry, who put his "political capital" at risk by backing Dewhurst.

Perry took aim during the campaign at various out-of-state Tea Partiers who supported Cruz, including the Tea Party Express and Sarah Palin. The governor, who is also a Tea Party favorite, chided them to "come to Texas and learn how to do it right."

Cruz defeated Dewhurst by nearly 14 percentage points. The former state solicitor general is now the heavy favorite against Democrat Paul Sadler in November, given the Lone Star State's heavy GOP tilt. The race is to fill the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is retiring.

Perry's use of the "stronger than garlic" hashtag is a compliment and one of his favorite sayings. He once touted the tech sector in Texas as being "stronger than 40 acres of garlic" and said during the 2008 presidential campaign that Sen. John McCain was "stronger than garlic" when it came to border security issues.