Beto O'Rourke Challenges Ted Cruz To 6 Debates, 2 In Spanish

The race for Ted Cruz's U.S. Senate seat is one of the more high-profile mid-term elections in the country this year. Ted Cruz, the junior Republican senator from Texas nearing the end of his first term, became quite outspoken during his first five years in Congress, even making a presidential bid in 2016.

His Democrat challenger this November, U.S. Representative Beto O'Rourke, has made some ripples in the Lone Star State's political waters this cycle. As the two get ready to face off in November, O'Rourke's camp issued a challenge to the Cruz campaign.

O'Rourke has invited Cruz to square off in six debates, including two of them in Spanish.

In a story first published in the Texas Tribune, O'Rourke's campaign manager sent a letter to Cruz's senior staff last week stating the debates would have "media reach to all 20 markets in the state."

"I would like to begin direct coordination of the debates with your campaign team between now and May 10th," O'Rourke campaign manager Jody Casey wrote to Cruz advisers in the letter on April 24. “Please advise my best point of contact on the Cruz campaign team."

Cruz, who's a polished politician and a notably skilled debater, answered back through his staff.

"Sen. Cruz has said he's looking forward to debates," Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said. "We are considering all possibilities in front of us and will be working with potential hosts and the O'Rourke campaign to determine the best platforms available so that Texans from all corners of the state can hear from the candidates directly about their views for Texas' future."

The Tribune report suggests the debates are most probable, but that Spanish-speaking debates likely won't happen with O'Rourke fluent in the language while Cruz not so much. Cruz is of Cuban descent but was born in Canada.

O'Rourke spoke with some supporters last week and says he's unfazed by Cruz's history of sharp debates, from a collegiate champion to arguing cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

"We certainly want a debate," O'Rourke said. "While I know that Cruz is a master debater, a very skilled politician, a very shrewd person ... I would love the opportunity to talk about what all of us have been doing together over the course of the campaign and what we want to achieve for Texas."

And Cruz isn't one to shy away from a debate, no matter how far left, right or in the middle they are. He's told reporters he's quite certain there will be a debate, and he brought up the fact he debated Sen. Bernie Sanders several times.

"I am not remotely afraid to debate left-wing liberal socialists," Cruz said.

Image: Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-TX) gives a speech alongside his wife Amy Hoover Sanders during a fundraiser baseball game on April 14, 2018 in Austin, Texas. O'Rourke is an El Paso Democrat looking to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the 2018 election. (Photo by Drew Anthony Smith/Getty Images)