This Democrat Thinks He Can Do What Beto O’Rourke Couldn’t: Take Down Ted Cruz

Pence Talks Some Sense • Fox Comes Crawling Back • Trump’s Iron Grip [View in your browser]( | [Update your preferences](newsletter=vf) [Vanity Fair Hive logo image]( This Democrat Thinks He Can Do What Beto O’Rourke Couldn’t: Take Down Ted Cruz Good morning from the Hive newsroom! Who’s afraid of Ted Cruz? Not Colin Allred, [writes]( Chris Smith. The Democratic representative and former NFL footballer, who is running to represent Texas in the Senate, wants to do what Beto O’Rourke couldn’t by making his long shot bid a referendum on Cruz. “Oh, Ted Cruz is unlikable,” Allred tells Smith. “But he’s also not doing the job. And that’s the biggest thing.” Elsewhere, Jack McCordick [surveys]( Republican reactions to Donald Trump’s third indictment, which prompted Mike Pence to go for the jugular. And speaking of Trump, Bess Levin [catches]( news of Barack Obama privately warning Joe Biden about the ex-president’s iron grip on Republican voters. Thanks for reading. [This Democrat Thinks He Can Do What Beto O’Rourke Couldn’t: Take Down Ted Cruz]( By [Chris Smith]( [Colin Allred, an NFL linebacker turned congressman, accuses Cruz of neglecting Texans while skipping to Cancún and podcasting. “He’s a content machine,” Allred says, “not a legislative machine.” Still, it’s an uphill battle, or potentially, as one strategist warns, a “suicide mission.”]( [Read more button](   [It Took Three Indictments for Mike Pence to Get Tough on Trump]( By [Jack McCordick]( [“Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president,” the former vice president said. Meanwhile, House Republicans appear fully committed to ignoring January 6.]( [Read more button](   [Barack Obama Is Also Scared Shitless That Donald Trump Could Win Another Term: Report]( By [Bess Levin]( [The former president reportedly relayed his fears to Joe Biden in late June.]( [Read more button](   [Looks Like Fox Pundits Are Trying to Get Back on Trump’s Good Side After Third Indictment]( By [Charlotte Klein]( [Will the network’s charm offensive sweeten the ex-president’s sour grapes?]( [Read more button](   [The Absolutely Wildest Details of the Government’s Latest Indictment Against Donald Trump]( By [Bess Levin]( [Like the conversation that led Mike Pence’s chief of staff to alert the Secret Service, and Rudy Giuliani’s admission that he and Trump had no evidence at all of election fraud.]( [Read more button](   Get on the list Subscribe to our Hollywood newsletter for your essential industry and awards-season news, every day. [Sign Up Now](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn](   This e-mail was sent to you by The Hive. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book. View our [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe](newsletter=vf) Sent from Condé Nast, 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007 Copyright © 2023 Condé Nast