MJ Hegar, one of two Democrats vying to challenge Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in November, took a veiled swipe at Cornyn’s fellow Texas senator Ted Cruz’s (R) war of words with actor Ron Perlman in a tweet Monday afternoon.
“Hey Texas, just want to let you know, if you make me your US senator… I handle my own fights,” Hegar, a former Air Force pilot, tweeted Monday, including a photo of herself lifting weights.
The tweet does not mention Cruz by name but comes the same day Cruz, responding to a heated back-and-forth between “Sons of Anarchy” star Perlman and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), challenged Perlman to wrestle Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) for charity.
Perlman fired back by offering to wrestle Cruz himself, saying “mentioning jim jordan and wrestling is… problematic,” an apparent reference to eight former Ohio State University wrestlers’ allegations that Jordan, then an assistant coach, knew of and failed to act on sexual abuse by team physician Richard Strauss. Jordan has denied the allegations.
Hegar, who narrowly lost in her 2018 challenge to Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), will face off against state Sen. Royce West (D) in a July 14 runoff, with the winner challenging Cornyn in November.