Beto O’Rourke sharpens Cruz critiques at McAllen rally

U.S. Rep.Joe Kennedy III embraces Democratic Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke during a campaign rally at the McAllen Convention Center on Saturday ,Oct. 13, 2018, in McAllen. McALLEN - Before Beto O'Rourke sharpened his critique of Ted Cruz at the least-intimate rally he has held in the Rio Grande Valley, a nurse handed the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate a light saber.

Ted Cruz leads Beto O’Rourke in new poll by nine points

A new poll released Thursday morning showed Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has stabilized his lead over his Democrat challenger, U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of El Paso. As for each candidate's images, 52 percent of Texans surveyed had a favorable view of Cruz, with 44 percent viewing him unfavorably.

AMAs: Stars like Taylor Swift, Tracee Ellis Ross get political, push voting in midterms

Awards shows like the American Music Awards are generally about partying, taking home statues, and sometimes a feud or two. With the midterms around the corner , AMA host Tracee Ellis Ross put her clothing where her priorities are.

Beto O’Rourke twice as wealthy as Ted Cruz, with net worth of $9 million

With an unassuming air and a black Toyota Tundra he says was "the first new vehicle I've ever purchased," Beto O'Rourke has campaigned thousands of miles across Texas and risen to national prominence on a workaday image that aligns with his politics, but not his personal finances. The son of a onetime Republican county judge and a longtime furniture store owner, the Democratic congressman from El Paso married into the family of one of his hometown's most prominent developers and has assembled real estate investments worth millions.

Filmmaker Richard Linklater directs anti-Ted Cruz web ad

Filmmaker Richard Linklater is the latest celebrity wading into the tight U.S. Senate race in Texas with a social media ad attacking Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. The "Boyhood" and "Dazed and Confused" director made a 30-second spot for a political action committee backed by Cruz opponents.

Beto famously declines Obama help — actually it would be Schumer who …

Beto famously declines Obama help -- actually it would be Schumer who would be calling the shots if Beto gets Senate seat O'Rourke is trying hard to burnish the centrist label he adopted for his Senate run against Ted Cruz. But conservatives in Texas are probably skeptical.

Texas pecan growers monitor tariffs, markets during harvest

The Austin American-Statesman reports the 2018 harvest is gearing up amid widespread anxiety over the price of the official Texas state nut. China - the top buyer of U.S. pecans - slapped a 47 percent tariff on them this summer as part of its broad effort to fight back against what it views as the Trump administration's hardball "America First" trade policies.

A Texas yard sign depicted a GOP elephant with its trunk up a girl’s skirt. Police seized it.

At some point during Judge Brett Kavanaugh's testimony last week, Marion Stanford grabbed a piece of wooden paneling, some paint and the $5 brushes she had purchased a while back. She brought the items back to her living room, where she had been glued to the television watching the drama unfold in the Senate that day.

Letters: Readers debate the merits and faults of Ted Cruz and Beto O’Rourke

As a lifelong Texan, I've always been proud that we're known as a state full of generous, bighearted people who generally come to each others' aid and defense regardless of political or ideological differences. But the tone and the tactics of Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign are the exact opposite of the people he supposedly serves.

Ted Cruz raised $12m this summera “a huge haul but not enough to keep pace with Beto O’Rourke gusher

Donations have poured into Sen. Ted Cruz's coffers faster than ever, and on Thursday he revealed the best quarterly tally of his reelection effort: a $12 million haul that would be the envy of nearly any Senate candidate in the country. Rep. Beto O'Rourke hasn't revealed his total for July through September but based on data already available, he raised at least $17 million -- and likely far more, pulling even further ahead of an incumbent Republican whose party hasn't lost a statewide contest in two decades.

Did Texas woman’s political yard sign go too far? Sid Miller calls her out, and others call cops

Marion Stanford expected the political sign she painted to rile up some folks in her small town of Hamilton in Central Texas. But she didn't expect to end up in a heated Facebook exchange with Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, or for the police to show up to confiscate her sign.

Beto O’Rourke rallies with Willie Nelson, as Democrats keep eyes on Texas

Add Midterm Elections as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Midterm Elections news, video, and analysis from ABC News. In many ways Austin, Texas, was the last place Beto O'Rourke should have been with just over a month left until a pivotal U.S. Senate election .

To Beto O’Rourke’s chagrin, Republicans sticking to base in midterm elections

Perhaps it would have been better for Texas Democrats like Beto O'Rourke and Lupe Valdez not to debate their Republican opponents in a state dominated by such a conservative electorate. Then again, some other political storm, like the fight in Washington over Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court, would have caused Republicans to make their way home instead of fancying a crossover vote for O'Rourke or another new-breed Democrat.

Here’s Why This Year’s Election Could Finally Be Different in Texas

Throughout 2017 and 2018, your good friends here at the Observer have strained to make sense, any sort of sense, out of the Senate race between Sen. Ted Cruz and El Paso U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke. We've talked with O'Rourke about Cruz's plan to have notorious drug lord Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzman pay for President Donald Trump's wall on the Texas-Mexico border, been there as the representative barnstormed all 254 Texas counties and tried to figure out just what the Texas GOP was attempting to do when it scolded O'Rourke for being in a band and skateboarding through a Whataburger parking lot.

Obama endorses 9 more Texas candidates in midterm races

Former President Barack Obama has backed nine more Democratic candidates in Texas as part of his second round of midterm endorsements. The nine candidates include challengers in two of Texas' most competitive congressional races: Lizzie Fletcher, who is running against U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, and Gina Ortiz Jones, who is taking on U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes.

Abbott plays it cool in only debate against Democratic rival Valdez

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott presented himself as a successful steward of a thriving state at the only debate of the Texas gubernatorial campaign Friday night, eschewing any sharp attacks on long-shot Democratic rival Lupe Valdez. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott presented himself as a successful steward of a thriving state at the only debate of the Texas gubernatorial campaign Friday night, eschewing any sharp attacks on long-shot Democratic rival Lupe Valdez, who portrayed Abbott as unwilling to provide adequate funding for public education and too ready to appeal to racial fears with what she called the state's show-me-your-papers law.