EXCLUSIVE: Ted Cruz on Beto O'Rourke: He wants to bring back regulations that 'hammered' Texas

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz explained Thursday why the November midterm election is a pivotal time for Texas voters.

Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke hails from El Paso, Texas, and trails Cruz in the polls by 4 percentage points. O'Rourke is of Irish descent and his real name is Robert Francis O'Rourke. He said his Hispanic-sounding nickname is from his childhood and has stuck with him ever since.

During an exclusive interview with Pat Gray on Thursday, Cruz admitted that O'Rourke has managed to outpace him in fundraising and urged voters to turn out in Texas.

Cruz touched on the "blue wave" in Texas, the left's infatuation with O'Rourke, and the Democrat's radical beliefs on guns, taxes, immigration, and Israel.

"Tell us some of the main differences between you and his policies," Pat said.

"Sure. Without exaggeration, there is no race in the country with a sharper difference between the candidates on substance, on record, on policy," Cruz replied.

The senator then broke down O'Rourke's positions issue by issue:

Taxes

Cruz said, "On taxes, he [O'Rourke] voted against the tax cut we passed last year and he wants to raise your taxes. On regulations, he wants to bring back the Obama-era regulations that hammered the state of Texas, that hammered oil and gas, that hammered farmers and ranchers and agriculture. On health care, he not only supports Obamacare he wants to expand it like Bernie Sanders to full-on socialized medicine to put the federal government in charge of your healthcare and your doctor."

Guns

Cruz said, "On guns, he has tweeted out to the world how proud he is that he has an 'F' rating from the NRA. He's proud to demonize the Second Amendment."

Immigration

Cruz said, "On immigration, he opposed the wall — not only that, he says we have too many walls already on the border. He wants to tear down the fences and walls we currently have. He's for sanctuary cities and he said he's open to abolishing ICE."

Cruz mentioned that O'Rourke wants to go further than abolishing ICE and is considering abolishing the entire department of Homeland Security.

"That's a radical and extreme view," Cruz said.

Listen to the rest of the interview in the clip above.

To see more from Pat, visit his channel on TheBlaze and listen live to “Pat Gray Unleashed” with Pat Gray weekdays 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. ET, only on TheBlaze Radio Network. Want more of Pat? Check him out on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.