text: A test for Tea Party in Texas Republican Senate runoff Tuesday | Reuters
  July 30, 2012 / 9:36 PM / 5 years ago
  A test for Tea Party in Texas Republican Senate runoff Tuesday
  AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The conservative Tea Party movement is hoping former Texas solicitor general Ted Cruz topples establishment Republican Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst in a fiercely competitive Republican primary runoff for an open U.S. Senate seat on Tuesday.
  The automatic telephone survey of likely Republican runoff voters, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points, said that Cruz had a 75-22 percent advantage with voters who consider themselves members of the Tea Party.
  A Cruz victory would be significant for the fiscally conservative movement. Dewhurst was the top vote-getter in the May primary and has long been favored to win. He has deep pockets and the backing of key Texas Republicans like Governor Rick Perry. Cruz, meanwhile, has never held elected office.
  The Tea Party emerged amid the economic recession of 2008 and 2009 and seeks deep federal government spending cuts and low taxes. It took its name from the 18th-century Boston tea party protest over taxation by the British king. Tea Party candidates defeated mainstream Republicans in Senate primaries in Indiana and Nebraska earlier this year.
  "Runoffs are unpredictable and it still seems possible that Dewhurst could win on Tuesday, but for now it looks like all the momentum since the primary has gone in Ted Cruz's direction," Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling wrote in a blog post.
  Dewhurst, 66, who presides over the state senate, has put $19 million of his own money into the race, his campaign said. Dewhurst is a former state land commissioner who has served in the U.S. Air Force and with the Central Intelligence Agency.
  He has dismissed Cruz as not having enough experience and running a campaign that depends on "Washington insiders."
  In Cruz's corner are national conservative stars such as former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and national groups such as the Club for Growth and FreedomWorks that have funneled money and volunteers to his campaign.
  CRUZ WOULD BE TEXAS' FIRST HISPANIC SENATOR
  On Monday, Dewhurst campaigned at an Austin Chick-fil-A -- the fast food chain at the center of a firestorm since its president made statements against gay marriage -- before holding campaign events with Perry and former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert.