Some of you may remember a senatorial race from six years ago, when Beto O'Rourke ran against Senator Ted Cruz. He came closer to unseating that bellicose senator than anyone has in a long time. O'Rourke was a popular two-term congressman from El Paso, and we were sorry to see him leave the House, but he has made a big mark on Texas politics. He still has an effective machine (a PAC called Powered By People) that is this year working to register as many voters as possible. The equally popular congressman Colin Allred, from Dallas, a former professional football player who clearly wore his protective headgear at all times is now running against Cruz. And while Beto works as hard as before to get voters registered, Allred, who was a hero of the House during the Jan. 6 breech of the Capital (he was some of the muscle ready to keep rioters out of the chamber, if need be, and of helping members escape) is running a very close race.

This is an example to illustrate about "down ballot races." Voting, even if you aren't in love with the top candidate, and voting a straight ticket (even if you have to fill in all of the Democratic spaces yourself - it has been mentioned before, possibly elsewhere, that in states like Texas that option was removed from ballots four years ago when Biden won and Democrats in down ballot races beat local GOP candidates who thought they were a shoo-in.)

If Allred can take that seat from Cruz, it helps Democrats keep the Senate. There are a lot of formulas out there about members who are weak in their states, and I don't think people outside Texas consider Cruz vulnerable. This would be a special gift from Texas if we can get rid of that nasty piece of work who has been in a position of power for far too long (and is one of the folks who did a turnabout of opposing Trump to being a solid vocal supporter, even after the insults Trump hurled at him.)