Longtime Texas senator Ted Cruz, basking in the glow of his debate performance last week, has extended his lead against heavily funded Democratic challenge Colin Allred.
Recent polls show Cruz with an edge anywhere from one to six points.
The Cook Political Report has moved the Pennsylvania race between Democrat incumbent Sen. Bob Casey Jr. and challenger Dave McCormick into its toss-up category.
RacetotheWH.com projects Republicans to win the Senate but lose control of the House.
Allen West, chair of the Dallas County Republican Party, said on American Family Radio this week that he expects Cruz to defeat Allred with ease.
“Just last week, they had the debate right here in Dallas and Ted Cruz just completely obliterated Colin Allred. Allred is right along the same lines of Kamala Harris, Barack Obama. They just try to hide, run on image, run a lot of campaign ads, but there is no substance there. We’ve seen a little bump in the polling for Ted Cruz after that debate,” West said.
Will Democrats' cash push for Allred fall short?
The power of Allred’s marketing and campaign contributions appear to be wearing off.
“I think that a lot of the shine, tricky little things of Colin Allred that drew attention to him have now faded away. People are going to be voting about these critical issues like the economy, their safety, their security, going to the grocery store, gasoline prices and things of this nature,” West said.
Texas, which hasn’t voted Democrat in a presidential race in almost 50 years, is considered a safe state for Republican candidate Donald Trump regardless of what happens in its highly publicized Senate race.
That’s far from the case in Pennsylvania where Trump has a lead over Kamala Harris of less than 1%, according to the current data at RealClearPolling.com.
If Trump doesn’t gain the White House, control of at least one chamber of Congress becomes critical for Republicans.
Actions, words differ for Casey
Diane Gramley, president of the American Family Association of Pennsylvania, is hopeful that McCormick can follow through and unseat Casey, who has been in office since 2007.
His words and actions through the years haven’t matched up, she said.
"I am a little bit surprised for sure because Sen. Bob Casey is definitely an entrenched Democrat and for years voters have not been following how he's actually acting in Washington, DC once he leaves Pennsylvania. So, I am surprised that McCormick is overtaking Sen. Casey.
McCormick’s rise also shows Trump’s strength in the state, Gramley says.
"I believe that is evidence of President Trump's strong position here in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and many of the other swing states that he's bringing along on his coattails, individuals like Dave McCormick here in PA."
Editor's Note: The American Family Association is the parent organization of the American Family News Network, which operates AFN.net.
