Ted Cruz Campaigns for Republican in Kansas, Paul Ryan Vacations at Universal Studios

Ted Cruz and Ron Estes Kansas Fernando SalazarAP
Fernando Salazar/AP
Michael Patrick Leahy

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “rallied Monday afternoon with about 200 [Ron] Estes supporters in a hangar stop near Eisenhower National Airport, the last major campaign event leading up to Tuesday’s election,” the Wichita Eagle reported in the closely watched battle to replace CIA Director Mike Pompeo in the Fourth Congressional District of Kansas.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), in contrast, is reportedly vacationing at Universal Studios in Hollywood.

“Our enemy right now is complacency,” Cruz told the crowd of Estes supporters, as the Eagle reported:

Estes, the Republican state treasurer, is locked in a hard-fought battle with Democratic civil rights attorney James Thompson for the seat vacated by former Rep. Mike Pompeo. Libertarian Chris Rockhold, a flight instructor, is also in the race.

Cruz said Donald Trump’s victory in the November presidential election was an “overwhelming cry from the American people to change the path we’re on.”

“That’s the mandate we’ve been given with a Republican president and both houses of Congress,” Cruz said.

“Cruz’s visit was part of a full-court press by the national GOP to boost Estes’ campaign in the final days,” the Eagle noted.

The New York Times reported that the Kansas special election results could be a possible warning sign for the Republican Party.

Former Rep. Tim Huelskamp was critical of the priorities of the Republican House leadership in a tweet earlier this week, suggesting they were not doing enough to secure a special election victory in the Fourth Congressional District.

President Trump, meanwhile, tweeted his support for Republican candidate Estes.

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