Progressives target ‘Cancun Cruz’ in ad to run on 147 Texas radio stations

The left-leaning No Excuses political action committee is launching an ad to run across 147 different radio stations in Texas taking aim at Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) going to Cancun, Mexico while his state deals with the fallout of a major winter storm leaving millions without power.

The 30-second ad dubs the senator “Cancun Cruz” for flying to Mexico on Wednesday as well as Cruz’s defense of the trip on Thursday the day after photos of him on a flight headed to the resort city surfaced, according to The Washington Post.

“Across the state of Texas, homes are without power, they’re without water, and our loved ones are dying, and our senator decided that now would be a good time to take a Mexican vacation,”  according to a recording of the ad. “He got busted for it and decided to feed us a line of malarkey about how he’s just gonna accompany the family down there for a day.” 

No Excuses PAC, which ran ads in WV urging Manchin to support $1400 checks, is putting up a radio ad in Texas on Cruz’s “Mexican vacation.” 147 stations pic.twitter.com/s13iRxbcpW

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) February 18, 2021

“You may be thinking, what could Ted Cruz do anyway? Well, Beto O’Rourke organized phone banks to do wellness checks on the elderly and if they weren’t doing well, he made sure that he got them help,” the ad continues.

O’Rourke, a former House Democrat who ran against Cruz in 2018 for his Senate seat, has shared on Twitter that he made over 300,000 calls with seniors around the state made by volunteers that day.

Over 300,000 phone calls made by volunteers today to help senior citizens in Texas who need heat, water, food and shelter (and some basic kindness).

We are opening a third shift, starting at 5pm CST today.

Please join us if you can: https://t.co/hb1tK4luy4

— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) February 18, 2021

“Cancun Cruz is an embarrassment to Texas,” the ad concludes. “Has been, always will be.”

Cruz faced massive backlash on Thursday after photos of him surfaced on social media on a flight to Cancun and pulling a suitcase and bag through the Houston airport. 

The Texas senator later issued a statement Thursday saying that he was accompanying his daughters on the trip since school was canceled due to the bad weather, and that he was flying back that afternoon.

At least 36 people have died due to the severe weather storm that has hit the Lone Star State particularly hard.