Beto O'Rourke attacks Ted Cruz in raucous Texas debate, calls him 'dishonest'

It was no more Mr Nice Guy for Beto O'Rourke.

Falling behind in the polls and running out of time, the Democratic contender for the U.S. Senate went on the attack against Republican incumbent Ted Cruz in a raucous Texas debate on Tuesday, calling him dishonest and resurrecting the senator's nickname of "Lyin' Ted."

Cruz fired back repeatedly, casting O'Rourke as out of touch with the values of Texas voters during a free-swinging debate that turned personal over divisive issues such as healthcare, climate change and the possible impeachment of Republican President Donald Trump.

"Senator Cruz is not going, to be honest with you. He is going to make up positions and votes that I've never held," O'Rourke said during the debate in a San Antonio television studio.

O'Rourke referred to the nickname given Cruz by Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. "He's dishonest," he said. "It's why the president called him 'Lyin' Ted,' and why the nickname stuck."

It was a change in strategy for O'Rourke, who has been hesitant to attack Cruz while portraying himself as a figure who could bring Texans together. But with polls showing him slipping farther behind just three weeks before the Nov. 6 election, and six days before early voting starts in Texas, O'Rourke switched his approach.

Cruz noted the more aggressive stance and pointed to O'Rourke's declining standing in the polls.

"It's clear Congressman O'Rourke's pollsters have told him to come out on the attack," Cruz said.

The race in Texas is seen as one of the Democrats' best shots at picking up one of the two U.S. Senate seats it needs to give the party a majority in the Senate and allow it to block Trump's agenda and exercise oversight of his administration.

But O'Rourke will need a comeback in conservative Texas, which has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994. A poll average compiled by Real Clear Politics gives Cruz a lead of 7 percentage points, and a new CNN poll published on Tuesday gave Cruz a similar 7-point margin.

O'Rourke's uphill campaign has attracted national attention and a flood of financial donations. O'Rourke set a Senate record for a single three-month period with $38 million in third-quarter donations, more than triple the haul for Cruz.

Cruz has made gains in Texas, however, by hammering O'Rourke as out of step with Texas voters because of his liberal stances, including his support for universal healthcare, a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, and some gun-control measures.

He continued those attacks during the debate, saying O'Rourke had repeatedly shown his willingness to align himself with the Democrats' liberal wing over the needs of Texans.

"Every time there is a choice between left-wing national activists and the people of Texas, he goes with left-wing national activists," Cruz said.

O'Rourke countered with criticism of Cruz as ineffective and self-serving in the Senate, more interested in his political career than in helping Texans.

"Ted Cruz is for Ted Cruz," he said, adding Cruz's re-election campaign was "based on fear."

Cruz said O'Rourke was eager to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump that would lead to a partisan circus. O'Rourke shot back: "It's really interesting to hear you talk about a partisan circus after your last six years in the U.S. Senate."

Cruz, who challenged Trump unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, will get help from his former rival next week when Trump headlines a Houston campaign rally for Cruz and other Texas Republicans.

O'Rourke criticized Cruz for his unwillingness to stand up to Trump on a range of issues and said he had failed to stop Trump from pushing tariffs that would hurt Texas farmers and businesses.

"You are all talk and no action," he told Cruz.

(With inputs from agencies.)