Tuesday night's televised U.S. Senate debate between Democrat and Republican will be more than just an hourlong political sparring match.
For Sadler, the event in Dallas provides a rare chance to engage Cruz on the issues and draw a response.
Since the July 31 primary runoffs, in which Cruz beat Lt. Gov. and Sadler defeated retired educator , debate in the race has been largely one-sided, with Sadler targeting Cruz and Cruz seemingly focused more on the national effort to defeat .
鈥淪tand together with and . Restore the American love story,鈥� Cruz said in August. 鈥淭hat, my friends, is change we can believe in.鈥�
That speech was the most visible sign of Cruz鈥檚 fast-rising national profile following his come-from-behind win over Dewhurst. Throughout a whirlwind national media campaign that also included appearances on NBC鈥檚 and , Cruz has focused his remarks more on the presidential race and his defeat of Dewhurst than on his own effort to win鈥檚 Senate seat in November.
Sadler, meanwhile, has struggled to draw Cruz鈥檚 attention. Over the last two months, Sadler has called Cruz an , and a and has questioned Cruz鈥檚 . During the primary, the Cruz campaign was always ready with a retort to Dewhurst鈥檚 criticism. Yet it has offered little or no comment in response to Sadler鈥檚 swipes.
鈥淗e tries to treat Paul Sadler like David Dewhurst tried to treat him,鈥� said Chuck McDonald, a Sadler campaign spokesman. 鈥淭hat's what you do when you have the advantage, and I think there's no doubt that the Republican has the advantage on the ticket.鈥�
Asked about Cruz鈥檚 focus on the race since the end of the primary, the Cruz campaign declined to comment.
Tuesday鈥檚 debate, hosted by Belo, will feature questioning from WFAA-TV news reporter and Dallas Morning News reporter . Cruz and Sadler will also have a chance to question each other.
Libertarian and Green Party candidate are also running for the open U.S. Senate seat. Neither was invited to the WFAA debate. Myers has with the Federal Communications Commission over his exclusion from the debate.
The debate will air live at 7 p.m. on ABC affiliates WFAA in Dallas and KVUE-TV in Austin and on . It will also stream live on . Various Belo-owned stations and some PBS stations plan to air the debate afterward.
Both candidates have also agreed to a second televised debate on hosted by Dallas-area PBS affiliate KERA-TV. The Texas Tribune is a partner in that event.
The Sadler campaign has said Cruz is afraid to do more debates. They point to how Cruz repeatedly for not participating in more candidate forums and debates, both during the primary and the subsequent runoff.
Along with the two planned debates, Sadler has agreed to participate in at least six other events to which both candidates have been invited, according to Sadler鈥檚 campaign. The Cruz campaign has not yet agreed to any other events. It has to participate in an event hosted by KUHT-TV, Houston鈥檚 PBS affiliate.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e doing what typically is done by a front-runner,鈥� Sadler said. 鈥淚 kind of expected it. But when you call yourself a national debate champion and when you run all over the state because Dewhurst wouldn鈥檛 show up, it鈥檚 a little ironic. I鈥檒l be nice and call it ironic. Some people might say hypocritical.鈥�
Asked last week about the prospect of more debates, Cruz spokesman James Bernsen said, 鈥淚 know we鈥檝e been offered others. I don鈥檛 know where [the campaign's decision-makers] stand, but I know they are looking at it closely.鈥�
In recent weeks, Cruz's schedule has been filled with fundraisers around the state aimed in part at retiring his campaign's debt from the primary and runoff. Several of the events have featured top Republican officials, including Dewhurst and Hutchison.
The Sadler campaign has said its fundraising has improved since the end of the runoff but has not said whether it will be able to afford to air television commercials, widely viewed as critical in reaching voters in a statewide race.
