Lone star showdown

>>> when it comes to heated battles in texas politics and college football . a packed field of republicans. we are taking a deep dive into the texas race to replace retiring senator. the republican primary according to poles is being dominated by a couple. cruise appears to have momentum. he has latched on to a familiar dynamic trying to knock off the republican front runner. he is the favorite among tea partiers and has powerful forces behind him led by senator. he has unleashed several negative ads including this one attacking his time as a trial lawyer and the case that involved the theft of entire blue prints.

>> also warrior ted cruise. cruise is helping this chinese company put this american manufacturer out of business. his chinese clients stole american blue prints. with lawyer ted cruz 's help the chinese keep counterfeiting.

>> we have seen this pattern in primaries. cruz 's campaign says the case is being blown out of proportion. he is trying to keep the focus on doohurst's record.

>> what he has done is moved accounts around. rick perry said budgetary slights of hand reminded him of the character from pop eye, wimpy. i'll glad you pay you tuesday for a hamburger today.

>> it was delayed nearly three months because of a fight over congressional redistricting. he'll have to face the second place finisher that won't happen until july 21st . whoever gets the second place finish might be able to rally enough activists. the eight people running against lieutenant governor, only three have a shot of beating him. leopard has solid reviews. the other candidate is greg james who got into the race in december and still trying to see the attention of texting voters.

>> i'm a citizen running for the united states senate . with 30 years of business background and experience of understanding risk and reward and understanding that the american spirit is what made this country great. it's not politicians. it's not policy and documentation and gray areas. it is feeding the opportunity for people to do what they do best and that is provide for themselves.

>> he was an all american at southern methodist university where he formed the pony express backfield. later he became a college football analyst for multiple networks. he is introducing his political record to texas voters and in this game he is a rookie going up against some powerful players. and right now he joins me. we had a technical issue in dallas but he has agreed to stay on the phone. thank you for doing that. my apologies for our technical mishap.

>> the best i have looked for a phone interview . got my makeup on and good tie.

>> let me ask you about why you ran -- there were a lot of texas republicans who knew you were interested in getting into politics who said run for something else first. bh why did you ignore the advice?

>> i had a lot of key people supporting me telling me to do it. they encourage me to make this run. that message has resonated for the last four months. people have grasped on to it and it is working for us.

>> i have seen some reviews from tea party activists who say they wish they had gotten to know you sooner but decided to get behind mr. cruz in this race. what is the difference? you guys are fighting for this.

>> we are going to have a press release showing the momentum we have. two weeks ago the debate, the one and only statewide televised debate was great for us. since that night there have been tons who have come to our team now that they have heard about ted. now that they are hearing me and seeing me and understanding what i offer the big difference is that in the senate chamber the majority are lawyers. we don't need another lawyer in the senate chamber. and the unique resume and experiences i have had in my life as a business person and various other fields gives me what we need for this country.

>> it's interesting watching. do you feel like your primary opponent is mr. cruz ?

>> absolutely. no question. i think we are all trying to get in second place. whoever comes in second will be the next senator.

>> i was surprised to see this controversy involving yoir son and the texas tech program. i was surprised to see that you are talking about it in tv ads, if you will. i assume -- i'm a big college football fan from the state of florida . college football and high school football very important in the state of florida . at texas more so. do you think this dust up has hurt you at all in the republican primary ?

>> there was a guy on radio we were doing an interview and his caller says in west texas we love our football and our good coaches. he said but we also love our children. and i know that at the end of the day we stood beside our son against a bully. it's not texas tech . it was mike leech. you can't do what he did to a human being twice. when our son asked us to stand with him we stood with him. it's not as big an issue as you might think.

>> you are using it a little bit in your campaign. is this because it is coming up or you feel it's a way to tell the story of kraig james?

>> of who i am. you talk about being tested by fire. i want to address it. i have nothing to be ashamed of. when you talk about going to washington d.c. you have to have a proven back bone. i stood against evil. right is right. wrong is wrong. it is going to take a lot of courage to get done what we have to get done in washington.

>> evil is a strong word. are you affixing evil to what coach did?

>> absolutely. in this country you can't order twice, put away, locked a human being . it's not alleged. it happened.

>> i have to leave it there. i owe you an on-camera interview. stay safe on the campaign trail. i know you end up doing a lot of driving and flying.