Ted Cruz scrambles to build bipartisan image ahead of re-election bid

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) isn't known for extending a hand across the aisle. He kicked off his career with a government shutdown to try to defund the Affordable Care Act, and voted to reject certification of President Joe Biden's victory amid the January 6 attack.

But he only narrowly won re-election in 2018 and, ahead of 2024 when his state has a handful of Republican-held seats Democrats could plausibly compete for, he is trying to build up a more bipartisan image for himself, reported NBC News on Monday.

"In a wide-ranging interview in his Capitol Hill office, Cruz highlighted his work as the top Republican on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and how he’s teamed with Chair Maria Cantwell, (D-Wash.), on legislation requiring that consumers be informed if their refrigerator or other home appliances have recording capabilities," reported Scott Wong and Sahil Kapur.

"Cruz touted his work with Sen. Joe Manchin, (D-W.Va.), on a bipartisan bill to fight a potential ban on new or existing gas stoves. And he spoke of his unlikely partnerships with two other Senate Democrats on the Commerce committee — Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico and Raphael Warnock of Georgia — to help create new interstates that will boost trade and business in their states."

This comes as Cruz has become the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee — and would chair it if Republicans can win control of the Senate in the 2024 election.

“Oversight is one large bucket” of the Commerce Committee's work, Cruz said, adding, “And then the other large bucket is positive, bipartisan legislation that can move, that can pass into law, that is pro-jobs and pro-growth. And the Commerce Committee has a long history of passing legislation like that.”

"Cruz’s new posture comes after he survived a near miss in his 2018 campaign, edging out Democratic rival Beto O’Rourke by a mere 2.6 points in the Republican stronghold. O’Rourke spent his campaign belittling Cruz as 'all talk and no action' — a senator who’d spent six years slinging partisan arrows and delivering nothing for Texas," noted the report. "To some Texans, it rang true. Cruz lost independent voters to O'Rourke in that contest, according to NBC News exit polls."