Tea Party Candidate Ted Cruz Earns Chance At Runoff In Texas Senate Race
By: News Staff
Updated: May 29, 2012
The Texas Republican Senate primary is headed for a runoff, after Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst fell shy of 50 percent of the vote Tuesday.
Dewhurst will face former state solicitor general Ted Cruz, a favorite of the tea party, in the July 31 runoff.
The winner of that runoff will be a heavy favorite to succeed retiring Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, after Democrats failed to land a top-tier recruit.
With 57 percent of precincts reporting, Dewhurst led Cruz 46 percent to 33 percent. Seven other candidates split the vote enough, though, to push the two into a runoff.
The Democratic primary will also come down to a runoff, between former state representative Paul Sadler and educator Grady Yarbrough, a political newcomer.
