Tonight was supposed to be the night we saw the first of a scheduled five debates between incumbent Texas Senator Ted Cruz, and challenger Beto O’Rourke. But that isn’t happening after all.
So what went wrong? Why won't they debate? University of Texas pollster Jim Henson tells KTRH this one is on Beto.
“The O’Rourke campaign says they couldn’t agree to terms with Cruz on the first one,” Henson explained. “I’m pretty confident that we’ll wind up seeing a few debates, mainly because it’s in the best interests of both campaigns to do them.”
Polling indicates a tight race, with one poll showing Cruz only up a single point. Does Henson buy in to it?
“What I am buying is the overall trend in the polls, which is showing a single digit race that is much closer than we have seen, with a lot of Democrats energized,” Henson said.
Henson adds the numbers will change, and it will probably benefit Cruz. But, he also says that this will be the closest statewide race we have had in Texas in decades.
POLL: Beto O'Rourke won't debate Ted Cruz... but he'll appear on Ellen