Cruz Releases Two New TV Ads Showcasing Tea Party Support

Five days before he is scheduled to appear at a Tea Party rally in Austin alongside U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz released two new TV ads highlighting supporters from around the state, including several conservative activists. 

"I'm Standing with Cruz" is set to air statewide on both cable and broadcast networks starting Wednesday, a campaign spokesman said. While Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert have already aired ads on the more expensive broadcast networks, this is the Cruz campaign's first ad that won't air solely on cable.

The ad shows a series of people affirming their support for Cruz in the U.S. Senate race, including Dave Nalle, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus, and Konni Burton, vice president of the NE Tarrant Tea Party.

A second ad, called "Conservatives on Dewhurst," features many of the same people from the first ad as well as former Texas Republican Party Chairwoman Cathie Adams criticizing Dewhurst for his record and his campaign's recent attacks on Cruz for Cruz's work as an appellate lawyer representing a Chinese tire firm against an American businessman.

"David Dewhurst thinks I care more about Chinese tires than his tax-and-spend record," Maggie Wright of Burleson says in the ad.