Beto O’Rourke wants Spanish-language debates with Ted Cruz

Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) challenged Sen. Ted Cruz (R) to six debates — including two in Spanish — The Texas Tribune reported.

O’Rourke’s campaign manager sent the proposal to Cruz’s senior staff last week, according to the Tribune.

Cruz has said in the past he is open to debating O’Rourke and his campaign is currently exploring its options, according to the Tribune.

{mosads}“Sen. Cruz has said he’s looking forward to debates,” Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said in a statement obtained by the Tribune. “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.”

In 2012, then-Lt. Gov. of Texas David Dewhurst also challenged Cruz to a debate in Spanish during the runoff for the Republican Senate nomination.

Cruz responded to the invitation by saying it didn’t make sense to have the debate in Spanish when most Texans speak English. Cruz admitted that his Spanish was “lousy.”

Both candidates seem open to debating in some way before the midterm election in November.

The El Paso congressman has said he is not deterred by Cruz’s past as a college debate champion or as a lawyer who has argued before the Supreme Court nine times.

O’Rourke is currently mounting a grass-roots campaign to unseat Cruz in a state that hasn’t seen a Democrat win a statewide election since 1994. He has surprised many by outraising Cruz even while refusing to accept money from political action committees.