Texas News Stakes Are High As Ted Cruz And Beto O'Rourke Negotiate Debate Plans KWBU | By Texas Standard Published August 1, 2018 at 8:17 AM CDT Twitter LinkedIn Email Listen • 4:30 Gage Skidmore/flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0) Texas Sen. Ted Cruz Cruz, the incumbent, was a champion debater in college. Challenger O’Rourke is riding a wave of momentum.