Slate Voice

DALLAS—The morning after his second and final Senate debate with Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Ted Cruz was happy to see me. Late the night before, I had published an assessment of the debate, crediting Cruz with getting the job done, but also mocking his over-the-top, fear-mongering portrayal of Texas under Democratic control, delivered in that famously smug voice that’s riled up millions—not all of them Democrats—for the last five years. Cruz said he liked the piece.