Democrats have fielded at least one bona fide 2018 challenger to Texas U.S. Senator Ted Cruz with three-term Congressman Beto O’Rourke announcing his campaign this week. The party’s three-decade long statewide office drought is well-documented and the GOP currently has an unblemished record in holding U.S. Senate seats in the Lone Star State dating back over a half-century. Since winning their first seat in the direct election era in 1961, Republican incumbents have amassed a 10-0 record when running for reelection: John Tower was 3-0 (winning in 1966, 1972, 1978) with Phil Gramm at 2-0 (1990, 1996), Kay Bailey Hutchison at 3-0 (1994, 2000, 2006), and John Cornyn at 2-0 (2008, 2014).

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