Sen. Ted Cruz warns Republicans could lose both chambers as early-vote turnout shows energized Democrats

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz warned that his party could suffer major losses in the Nov. 3 midterm elections if current turnout patterns continue, saying Democrats are showing up in large numbers while reliable Republican voters are lagging.

“What we’re seeing across the country is massive Democrat turnout,” Cruz said on his “Verdict” podcast. “Democrats are showing up. They are energized. They hate, hate, hate Donald Trump.”

“If the election were over today, if just the early votes that have been cast so far were counted, Republicans would lose massively,” he said. “We would lose both the House and Senate. It would be a bloodbath.”

Cruz emphasized that early-vote data do not determine the final result, especially because Republicans traditionally vote at higher rates on Election Day, but he said the current imbalance was large enough to worry him.

He singled out Texas as one of the clearest warning signs.

“Texas is excruciatingly close,” Cruz said. “We could lose Texas. Let me repeat that. We could lose Texas.”

He added that Republicans could potentially lose not only the U.S. Senate race but every statewide contest in Texas if Democratic turnout remains high and Republican participation fails to improve.

The warning comes as polling shows Democrat James Talarico running competitively against Republican Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race, while Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa has also narrowed the gap with Gov. Greg Abbott.

Cruz also pointed to South Carolina and Kansas as unexpectedly competitive states. In South Carolina, Republican Darline Graham is locked in a close Senate race, while in Kansas Democrat Adam Hamilton is mounting a stronger-than-expected challenge to Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.

Associated Press data show early voting is running well ahead of the 2022 midterms in several battlegrounds, including Texas, Kansas, South Carolina and other states with competitive Senate races.

Cruz also cautioned Republicans against assuming a future Democratic presidential nominee such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would be easy to defeat, saying that anyone who believes such a result is impossible “has not been paying attention.”