Cruz forces Dewhurst into runoff

YES! Outspent and with lower name recognition, Texas conservatives held the line and denied another establishment shoe-in for the U.S. Senate race in Texas' Tuesday night primary.

YahooNews: Tea party candidate Ted Cruz achieved his goal Tuesday and forced establishment favorite Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst into a runoff in the Texas U.S. Senate race.

Cruz, a Cuban-American lawyer who served as state solicitor general, along with seven additional Republicans competing in the Senate primary, held Dewhurst to 47 percent of the vote with 40 percent of precincts reporting. That meant Dewhurst was just shy of the majority required to avoid a July 31 runoff. Cruz placed second with 32 percent to secure his runoff spot.

The showing by Cruz, who was endorsed by the Tea Party Express, FreedomWorks, Sarah Palin and others connected to the tea party, marks the latest in a string of U.S. Senate victories for the movement. First, tea party challenger Dan Liljenquist forced Sen. Orrin Hatch to a primary in Utah, then Richard Mourdock defeated Sen. Dick Lugar in Indiana, and most recently, state Sen. Deb Fischer won her party's nomination in Nebraska.

Conservative Senator Jim DeMint, who backed Cruz early on, tweeted Tuesday night, "This is a major victory for conservatives. Dewhurst failed to get a majority because he failed to fight for conservative principles. His false attack backfired. Now it's time for freedom-loving Americans everywhere to help @tedcruz win the 7/31 primary run-off." DeMint also iterated on the Senate Conservative Fund something that many know in their gut (and the microcosm I pointed to last week):

"This is now the most important Senate race in the country. It pits the establishment against one of the most exciting conservative candidates in the country. The outcome will have national implications that stretch far beyond Texas. We must fight. We must win."

Now that former NFL player/ESPN announcer Craig James is out of the running, along with former Dallas mayor Tom Leppert (and his empty suit commercials), the CONSERVATIVE choice is crystal clear. Now it's up to you, Texans. It's put up or shut up time. Will you send a go-along-to-get-along establishment moderate to Washington (basically, another Hutchison), or will you send a true conservative fighter? The conservative turnout on July 31st will determine the outcome.

Join the late Andrew Breitbart in supporting a man that he believed represents the future of conservatism. Help elect Ted Cruz as Texas' newest U.S. Senator!