*By Carlo Versano*
Texas Democrats find themselves in an odd position two months before a major election: running a competitive statewide race.
Optimism that Rep. Beto O'Rourke could unseat Republican incumbent Ted Cruz in the Senate is palpable in Democratic circles, said Texas Monthly's politics editor Carlos Sanchez. The race is now a "toss up," according to [Real Clear Politics] (https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/senate/tx/texas_senate_cruz_vs_orourke-6310.html).
O'Rourke, who was elected to the U.S. House in 2013, has been surfing a wave of positive national press and an unorthodox, social-media-savvy campaign that found him traveling to all 254 counties of the deep red state and streaming his journey online.
All summer he's been gaining on Cruz who, compared to the charismatic O'Rourke, suffers from a "likability issue," Sanchez said. After all, Cruz's Republican colleague Lindsey Graham once famously [said](http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/313969-graham-to-cruz-i-want-to-apologize-to-ted-for-saying-he-should): "If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you."
Sanchez said that kind of sentiment may work in O'Rourke's favor: "The base for Cruz seems to be crumbling a bit."
But there are still challenges. While O'Rourke has out-raised Cruz by a wide margin, mostly from small-dollar donors, Cruz is better organized and allied with the powerful Koch network of donors. Sanchez said that "formidable" campaign infrastructure could pose a threat to the Democrat.
And the issue of Donald Trump looms large.
The president accepted an invitation to campaign for Cruz after Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick [reportedly](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/09/ted-cruz-reelection-trump-813354) pleaded with him to throw his support behind Cruz, a man he incidentally referred to as "Lyin' Ted" on the campaign trail.
Though that may end up working against the incumbent, Sanchez said. O'Rourke, who is popular with young and minority Democrat voters, needs those blocs to turn out on Election Day. A fiery Donald Trump rally weeks before may compel them to do just that.
O'Rourke "is the national Democrat of Texas right now," Sanchez said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/republicans-go-into-crisis-mode-as-democrat-beto-orourke-closes-in-on-ted-cruz-in-texas-senate-race).
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Democrats have already signaled that they're going to focus more on election interference and be "a little bit more aggressive than Republicans" during Mark Zuckerberg's testimonies this week, says Ali Breland, technology and politics reporter at The Hill. The Facebook CEO will appear before Congress Tuesday and Wednesday to face questions about the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
President Trump's feud with Amazon and its CEO Jeff Bezos continues, as the president claims that the tech giant does not pay its fair share of taxes and that it's causing the U.S. Postal Service to lose money. Cheddar breaks down President Trump's claims and explores how Amazon's deal with the post office works.
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The president is likely to respond to the brutal chemical attack in Syria that took place over the weekend, says Jon Miller, CRTV's White House Correspondent. That's based on the fact that, not only has the president taken military action against Syria before, but there also seems to be some support for some kind of a response among voters.
The trade war rhetoric "runs the risk of overplaying [Trump's] hand" in negotiations, says Clayton Allen, Vice President of Special Situations at Height Capital Management. That could, in the long run, come back and hurt employment rates in the U.S.
A lot of top executives of big name brands, like Apple or Starbucks, are starting to take political stances that are "unrelated to the bottom line," explains Aaron Chatterji, Associate Professor at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and author of a recent Harvard Business Review article about CEO activism.
Washington won't easily forgive Facebook for sending a "low-level" deputy to testify when Congress first wanted answers about Russia's role in the 2016 election. And legislators are likely to take out their frustration on the CEO when he appears before them next week, says Ken Gude, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress.
President Trump is stoking fears of a trade war with China yet again. On Thursday evening, Trump threatened more tariffs on China worth $100 billion dollars, on top of the tariffs Trump is already planning. China immediately fired back, saying the country will continue to meet Trump's tariff threats with counter-actions.
President Trump also made news when he finally broke his silence on the Stormy Daniels controversy. When asked by reporters if he knew about the payment by his lawyer to Daniels, Trump quickly said, "no." Michael Avenatti, Stormy Daniels' lawyer, said Trump denying knowledge of the payment is "a gift from the heavens."
Executives and fighters from the UFC were at the New York Stock Exchange to ring the opening bell on Friday in celebration of the organization's 25th anniversary. Amanda Nunes, a UFC fighter, and Lawrence Epstein, the COO of the UFC, join us to weigh in on the milestone and preview the UFC 223 taking place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn this weekend. Epstein also commented on the arrest of UFC star Conor McGregor, saying McGregor's actions don't represent UFC's values.
West Virginia is the first state to test out voting via blockchain, collaborating with venture capitalist Bradley Tusk. "[People] want to vote the same way that they order something from Amazon," says Mac Warner, WV's Secretary of State. The experiment has rolled out for deployed military voters in some counties, with plans to deploy it across the state for the midterm elections in November.
