Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) took aim at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Sunday over a series of issues.
Cruz, who is facing a very competitive re-election campaign against Democratic Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), expressed his frustrations with McConnell, referring to him as a “one-man dictator” who is hampering progress in the Senate.
“He’s basically behaved as a one-man dictator. I don’t think we want a leader who does that,” Cruz said during an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” McConnell, who is the longest-serving Senate Republican leader, has faced increasing criticism from factions within his own party, including Cruz, who has long opposed McConnell’s leadership style.
Cruz predicted that former President Donald Trump would win the upcoming election and that the GOP would win the Senate and retain control of the House. “When that happens, we’ve got enormous work to do when that happens,” he said.
The senator argued that the GOP needs a new leader in the Senate, one who would “democratize” operations and be more collaborative.
The contention between Cruz and McConnell has been longstanding. However, the latest dustup is related to the lack of funding Cruz has received from the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), a Super PAC created to bring about a Republican majority in the upper chamber. Cruz said he is “getting absolutely zero support” from the SLF even though he is running a close race with his opponent.
The SLF has chosen to allocate funding to other states that it views as critical for a GOP-led Senate, such as Pennsylvania, Montana, and Ohio, according to Fox News.
“I want to see a majority leader who changes how the Senate operates, who democratizes it more,” Cruz told Fox News. He argued for a return to a “full and open amendment process” on budget bills, which can often be thousands of pages long.
Cruz argued for a more transparent legislative process. “That would fundamentally change how the Senate operates,” he said.
Earlier this year, Cruz called for McConnell to step down as leader after the failed bipartisan border bill that the Minority Leader supported. McConnell has also become disliked among the Republican base, many of whom view him as an establishment figure.
A 2022 poll showed that McConnell had only a 17 percent favorability rating among Republicans and a 61 percent unfavorable rating.
Several polls show Cruz and his opponent in a statistical dead heat. An Emerson College Polling survey conducted in October showed Cruz leading at 48 percent compared to Allred’s 47 percent. A New York Times/Siena College poll showed Cruz leading Allred 50 percent to 46 percent.
The polling in this race is particularly noteworthy as it appears to show that Democrats are gaining ground in Texas, which is a red state. Former President Donald Trump, during a rally in Kinston, North Carolina, slammed the Senate minority leader, referring to him as a “disgrace.”
“Hopefully, we get rid of Mitch McConnell pretty soon ’cause he helped them, that guy,” Trump said, claiming McConnell helped President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
During the 2018 midterms, Cruz defeated his opponent, Beto O’Rourke, by only two percentage points, further signifying that, regardless of how this election turns out, Republicans have some hefty challenges to face if they are to maintain control of the state.
