‘A Watergate-level repudiation’: Ted Cruz weighs in on midterm wave

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Wednesday described the historic Democratic sweep in the midterm elections as an “ass-kicking” for Republicans, urging the party to deliver on economic promises in the next cycle. “It was not simply a bad 2006 midterm election, it was a Watergate-level repudiation,” Cruz said on an episode of his podcast, describing the Democratic shift across the country as a “blue tsunami.” Cruz, who is not up for re-election until 2030, said that “understandably, people were pissed off,” as “Republicans didn’t do enough to address their very real pain.” He pointed to tariffs’ raising costs and the Iran war’s dragging on for “too long,” adding, “Food is too high, gas is too high, diesel is too high, insurance is too high, life is too high.” “Too many Republican politicians seem like they didn’t understand or they didn’t care,” he said.

NBC News exit polls found that more than 80% of voters said they were worried about the prices of necessities: gas and diesel fuel, food and groceries, utilities and healthcare. “We need to listen and respond. We need to champion economic policies that make a real difference in working people’s lives, and we need to deal with the consequences,” Cruz said. Cruz said he did call his new colleague, Democratic Sen.-elect James Talarico, to congratulate him on