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By Jennifer Radcliffe
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Senator Ted Cruz said Democrats are "drunk on their own power" after their midterm victories, predicting the party will overreach despite what he described as a "generationally damaging" defeat for Republicans.
Speaking on his Verdict podcast Friday, the Texas Republican argued Democratic leaders will interpret their gains as a mandate for a broader progressive agenda, even though he believes voters were primarily expressing frustration over economic concerns.
"These guys are drunk on their own power," Cruz said. "They are high on their own supply."
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Cruz claims Democratic leaders are already misreading the election results.
"The radicals are running the Democrat Party," he said. "They believe they have a mandate."
The comments came as Cruz assessed the scale of Republican losses nationwide, which handed Democrats control of both chambers of Congress and expanded the party's Senate majority.
"We're already at 54 Democrats. We could be at 56," Cruz said. "That is generationally damaging."
Cruz argued Senate defeats are particularly difficult to overcome because senators serve six-year terms, potentially locking in Democratic gains for years.
"It will take six years to have the chance to turn them around," he said. "Retaking the majority in the Senate is very, very difficult."
Texas political analyst Scott Braddock, editor of Quorum Report, offered a different interpretation on his show, arguing Democrats won because James Talarico, Gina Hinojosa and other candidates remained focused on voters' economic concerns.
"Republicans kept trying to bait them into having arguments about culture wars," Braddock said on his podcast. Instead, he said, Democrats stayed "laser focused" on affordability and the economy. "It's the economy, stupid, and guess what? It still is."
What Happened in Texas?
Democrats swept every statewide race in Republicans' most populous stronghold Tuesday, ending a three-decade losing streak.
Talarico, Democratic state representative, defeated Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, who had President Donald Trump's support, despite a series of scandals. Hinojosa, also a state representative, upset three-term Republican Governor Greg Abbott to become the state's first Hispanic governor.
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In the lieutenant governor's race, Democratic state lawmaker Vikki Goodwin ousted Republican incumbent Dan Patrick. Meanwhile, Democratic state Senator Nathan Johnson won the attorney general's race over Republican state Senator Mayes Middleton. Republican Bo French, who drew condemnation from members of his own party over remarks about University of Texas students, lost the race for railroad commissioner to Democratic state Representative Jon Rosenthal.
And all of these defeats came after Republicans' redistricting efforts aimed at bolstering the GOP's chance at winning five additional seats.
Ted Cruz as Trump's Ally
Cruz, who has represented Texas in the Senate since 2013, is one of the best-known and most polarizing politicians in the state.
A former Texas solicitor general and 2016 presidential candidate, Cruz built his national profile as a leading voice in the conservative movement and a close ally of Trump after initially running against him in the Republican primary.
While Cruz remains popular among many Republican voters, he has also drawn criticism from Democrats and some independents, particularly following his 2021 trip to Cancun during a deadly Texas winter storm and his role challenging the 2020 presidential election results.
Dozens of critics posted in responses to his podcast that he was misinterpreting the election results and that he would be the next Republican voted out of office in Texas.
Cruz Predicts a Republican Rebound in 2028
While acknowledging the severity of the midterm losses, Cruz said he believes Democrats will ultimately undermine their own position by focusing on policies voters were not demanding.
The senator said that Democrats campaigned heavily on affordability and economic frustrations but will now pursue priorities that are disconnected from what motivated voters to support them this year.
"The people who were pissed and understandably pissed and said, 'I'm mad at you, I'm voting the other side,' every issue they were mad about is going to get worse," Cruz said.
Cruz also addressed the political implications for Texas, where Democrats made historic gains during the 2026 cycle. He argued that while the state's political landscape has shifted, Republicans can win back voters if Democrats fail to deliver on economic issues.
"I think 2028 is going to be a really good Republican year," he said. "Ironically, because 2026 was such a bad Republican year."
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Edward T. Cummins
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