Cook Political Report moves Cruz-O’Rourke Senate race to ‘lean Republican’

The Texas Senate race between Sen. Ted Cruz (R) and Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) has been shifted in the Democrat’s direction by the Cook Political Report, a major nonpartisan election handicapper.

Cook shifted the race from its “likely Republican” column to “lean Republican” on Friday, stating that recent polling suggests a tighter race.

{mosads}Earlier this week, a Texas Lyceum poll released Wednesday showed the race between the two is neck and neck, with Cruz leading O’Rourke 41 percent to 39 percent among likely voters.

Cook also noted a Gravis Marketing (R)(IVR) poll from early July that showed Cruz with a 9-point lead over O’Rourke, 51-42 percent.

Texas has not elected a Democrat to the Senate in three decades, but the party thinks it has a chance to pull off an upset with O’Rourke, who raised more than $10.4 million in his second fundraising quarter.

Cruz, who ran for president in 2016 and tangled with President Trump during the campaign, reportedly raised $4 million over the same period of time, which brought him to $10 million in cash-on-hand, according to the Houston Chronicle.