Rick Tyler, the former Communications Director and campaign strategist for the Ted Cruz 2016 presidential campaign, has been a panelist on MSNBC and other major networks quite a few times as a contributor, and has provided an insight — as a former wingman for a major Republican — that most on the forward-leaning network just don’t have.
Appearing on Sunday night with a full panel on host Kasie Hunt’s Kasie DC, the host played a little background from top Republican Mick Mulvaney in a private conversation about the “likability” of the Texas Senator, and what his reelection prospects look like, especially in light of such a successful campaign by his opponent Beto O’Rourke who has gone viral (in a good way) for his response to a question about kneeling athletes.
Mulvaney indicated that a major thought process back in Washington included the possibility that Senator Cruz simply isn’t likeable enough to beat O’Rourke, and Hunt asked Rick Tyler about what the calculus is. His answer would unsettle ANY candidate who’s struggling in the polls:
It’s possible. I mean, people say ‘no, it’s not possible.’ Again, you look at Texas and say it’s a Red State, and it’s never gonna happen. But Beto O’Rourke has consistently out-fundraised him, I think two-to-one, and he doesn’t take PAC money. The race should be a 10 or 15 point race, it’s not. It’s a zero-to-four point race, and Beto O’Rourke is running an interesting campaign, and he’s grabbed national attention. So, it’s … It’s a race.”
Ted Cruz’ panic has been apparent over the last few weeks as O’Rourke edged ever closer in the polls, culminating in a bizarre and manic episode at a campaign rally on Saturday in which he claimed that his opponent, as a Democrat, wanted Texas to “be just like California, right down to tofu and silicon and dyed hair.”
Watch Cruz’ former sidekick break it down here:
Featured image via screen capture
