Texas – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz stepped into Texas’s Republican runoff season with a simple message, but the reaction that followed was anything but simple.
On May 18, 2026, the first day of early voting in the state’s key GOP runoff elections, Cruz posted a video on X, urging conservatives to support two candidates.
He described them as allies and fighters: Rep. Chip Roy for Texas attorney general and Jon Bonck for the open House seat in Texas’s 38th Congressional District.
“I cast my vote today on the first day of early voting in the Texas runoffs. Get out and support strong conservative fighters and my friends, @JonBonckTX for TX-38 and @ChipRoyTX for Texas Attorney General. Fight for Texas. Fight for liberty,” Cruz wrote.
I cast my vote today on the first day of early voting in the Texas runoffs.
Get out and support strong conservative fighters and my friends, @JonBonckTX for TX-38 and @ChipRoyTX for Texas Attorney General.
Fight for Texas. Fight for liberty. pic.twitter.com/iXgjsuzcDv
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 18, 2026
On the surface, the endorsement was not surprising. Cruz has a long history with Roy, who once served as his chief of staff before becoming a prominent conservative voice in Congress.
Roy is now leaving his seat in Texas’s 21st Congressional District to run for the open attorney general position, where he faces state Sen. Mayes Middleton in the May 26 runoff. His campaign has leaned heavily on issues such as border security, election integrity and conservative legal fights.
Bonck, a mortgage and real estate broker, is running for the TX-38 seat in the Houston area after Rep. Wesley Hunt decided to seek a Senate seat.
Cruz’s backing placed Bonck firmly inside the senator’s preferred circle of Texas conservatives, alongside support from groups such as the Club for Growth and other Republican figures.
But instead of landing as a routine get-out-the-vote push, Cruz’s post quickly turned into a magnet for anger from some of the same Republican voters he has spent years trying to energize.
The comment section filled with criticism, much of it aimed not at Roy or Bonck, but directly at Cruz.
Several users accused the senator of failing to push hard enough on election security, especially the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility America Act, also known as the SAVE America Act.
The House-passed bill, sponsored by Roy, would require proof of citizenship for voter registration and photo identification at the polls.
For many conservative voters, the measure has become a test of whether Republican lawmakers are willing to fight aggressively on election rules.
In the Senate, however, the legislation has faced resistance and procedural barriers, with Majority Leader John Thune accused by critics of not doing enough to force action amid Democratic opposition.
That frustration spilled into Cruz’s replies almost immediately.
“You really messed up Ted. I was a supporter from the beginning in The Woodlands. Texas is done with you. You didn’t push the Save America Act,” one user wrote.
Another user, @PaulMorphiuss, tied the issue to one of Cruz’s most politically damaging controversies.
“You vote for Cornyn or Paxton, Ted? Oh, by the way—how is the Save America Act coming along?? You think you’ll get that done before the next Cancun vacation? 😡,” he wrote.
The reference pointed back to Cruz’s 2021 trip to Cancun during a deadly winter storm in Texas, an episode that Democrats and even some critics on the right have continued to use against him.
Others framed their disappointment as a break from past loyalty.
“I’ve supported you since before YOUR runoff victory, but you’ve become a part of the problem. Maybe we need pick someone else the next election cycle who will work with Senator Paxton,” @HixsonLt wrote.
The mention of Paxton added another layer to the backlash.
Cruz has stayed neutral in the high-profile U.S. Senate runoff between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a decision that has irritated some hardline conservatives who want Cruz to openly side with Paxton. To them, neutrality is not caution. It is a signal.
“You didn’t say you support Paxton?? You’re primaried out in 2030 if you don’t, so you better figure out which side you’re on. RINOs are done,” @JJ4Trump2024 wrote.
We are tired of you Cruz.
You’ve failed conservatives.
Why can you not get our elections secured? So many politicians are all talk, such as yourself and @SenRickScott and yet nothing happens.
Why is Thune still in his position? Can’t you get 4 other senators to start??????
— Dakota (@DakotaIGIT) May 18, 2026
Another critic, @AdamWatkinsJD, broadened the attack, accusing Cruz of failing to confront Thune over the SAVE America Act and criticizing his support for Roy.
“You failed to call out Thune for preventing the Save America Act. You endorsed a guy who said Trump engaged in impeachment-worthy conduct. You refused to endorse a guy who has always & only tried to help Trump make America great again. You will be primaried in 2030,” the user wrote.
The reaction underscored a difficult political space for Cruz. Since entering the Senate in 2013, he has built his brand as a sharp-edged conservative and fierce fighter.
A former presidential candidate, Harvard Law graduate, former clerk for Chief Justice William Rehnquist and former Texas solicitor general, Cruz has long been seen by supporters as one of the party’s strongest legal and political voices.
President Donald Trump has even praised him as a “brilliant legal mind” and has floated the idea of Cruz serving on the Supreme Court. Cruz has said Trump raised that possibility with him three times during Trump’s first term, but he declined, preferring political combat to a judicial seat.
Yet Cruz’s latest endorsement post showed that even a senator with deep conservative credentials is not immune from pressure inside his own party.
The anger in the replies reflected more than one runoff. It showed growing impatience among voters who want action on election security, border policy and Senate leadership fights.
As early voting continues in Texas, Cruz’s support for Roy and Bonck may still help both candidates. But the response to his post made one thing clear: in today’s Republican politics, endorsements can rally allies, but they can also reopen old wounds.
