A Tight Race in Texas
Now that all states have concluded their primary elections, the general election has begun in earnest. On November 6, Americans will choose the next Congress as well as many governors’ offices and state legislative offices.
Instructors, click the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt and a debate question as well as other assessment questions.
Download the PowerPoint Lecture Spark for A Tight Race in Texas
Links
“Competitive Texas Senate race sparks spending war between Cruz, O’Rourke”
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/09/14/competitive-texas-senate-race-sparks-spending-war-between-cruz-orourke.html
“Democrats and Republicans are both running on identity politics”
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/21/17850434/2018-midterm-elections-predictions-women-beto-orourke
“Cook Political Report moves Texas Senate race to ‘toss-up’”
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/407735-cook-political-report-moves-texas-senate-race-to-toss-up
“Beto O’Rourke leads Ted Cruz by 2 among likely voters in U.S. Senate race, new poll finds”
https://www.texastribune.org/2018/09/19/beto-orourke-leads-cruz-new-poll-texas-senate-race/
“Here’s a little secret about the Texas Senate race”
https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/10/politics/ted-cruz-beto-orourke-texas-senate/index.html
“Can Democrats win in Texas? National contests show that 2018 is their best shot yet”
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/08/13/can-democrats-win-texas-national-contests-2018-midterms-best-shot
“GOP victory in Texas race is a good sign that Republicans can defy history in midterms”
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/09/20/gop-victory-in-texas-race-is-good-sign-that-republicans-can-defy-history-in-midterms.html
“Texas Senate – Cruz vs. O’Rourke”
https://realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/senate/tx/texas_senate_cruz_vs_orourke-6310.html
“2018 Primaries”
https://edition.cnn.com/election/2018/primaries
“Why Does The President’s Party Lose Seats In The Midterm Elections?”
https://medium.com/@marcushjohnson/why-does-the-presidents-party-lose-seats-in-the-midterm-elections-ee84760a69ae
Assessment
- Writing: Why is there so much attention focused on the Senate race in Texas?
- Debate: Donald Trump’s low public approval rating should harm the political aspirations of Republicans seeking office.
- Poll: How many of you believe Democrats will retake both the House and the Senate this year?
- Short Answer: Why might a tight race in Texas indicate the midterm elections will be very bad for the Republican party?
Current events quiz:
1) The sitting president’s party will typically loses seats in midterm elections
a. regardless of how well they have done implementing their agenda.
b. only if they are Republicans.
c. because the opposing party tends to be more energized.
d. both (a) and (c)
2) According to CNN, there are currently ____ toss-up seats in the Senate.
- three
- four
- six
- seven
3) The article discussing identity politics in this year’s election cites one major race, _____________, as being a good example of how Democrats are using this tactic.
- Ayanna Pressley vs. Michael Capuano
- Dianne Feinstein vs. Kevin de Leon
- Dannel Malloy vs. Bob Stefanowski
- Ted Cruz vs. Beto O’Rourke
4) Despite it being a close election, Ted Cruz and Republican Majority Whip John Cornyn are telling voters not to worry and that they are confident Cruz will win the Senate race. (T/F)
5) Midterm election results are representative of the results of the most recent presidential election, since almost everyone who votes in the presidential election will likely turn up to vote in the midterm election. (T/F)
6) It is shocking that Ted Cruz is not beating Beto O’Rourke in the polls right now, as he has raised far more campaign cash than O’Rourke. (T/F)
Answers:
1) D
2) C
3) A
4) False
5) False
6) False
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