Election Day: 3 Wins & a Loss plus Cruz's Filibuster Record Broken

Summary

Verdict with Ted Cruz: Election Day – Three Victories, One Loss, and Cruz’s Filibuster Record Broken
Release Date: April 2, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of Verdict with Ted Cruz, hosted by Premiere Networks, Senator Ted Cruz and co-host Ben Ferguson delve into the critical outcomes of Election Day, highlighting three significant Republican victories and one notable defeat. Additionally, the episode examines the recent breaking of Cruz’s filibuster record by Senator Cory Booker, analyzing the implications and contrasting motivations behind their respective efforts on the Senate floor.

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Election Day Results: Three Republican Wins

Timestamp: [11:34]

Senator Ted Cruz begins by outlining the successful outcomes of the recent elections in Florida. Despite heavy Democratic spending aimed at flipping the seats, the Republicans secured both contested House seats with substantial margins. Cruz states:

“Both of those were sizable victories. If you look at Randy Fine, he was literally outspent 10 to 1. I mean, it was massive. I've been in races where I've been outspent 3 to 1, but 10 to 1 is a massive funding disadvantage. And so that victory is really significant.”
[11:34]

The victories in Florida not only reinforce Republican control but also provide President Donald Trump’s administration with the much-needed leverage to advance key agenda items without the immediate pressure of an overwhelmingly narrow House majority.

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Voter ID Law in Wisconsin: A Constitutional Win

Timestamp: [15:55]

Shifting focus to Wisconsin, Cruz discusses the successful passage of a voter ID requirement amendment, which cements the existing law into the state’s constitution. He emphasizes the importance of this victory for election integrity, especially in a swing state like Wisconsin:

“Wisconsin, the voters had on the ballot, should photo ID for voting be in the Wisconsin Constitution? And that won overwhelmingly. The vote was 63.2% to 36.8%. So it was a massive, almost a 30 point victory. That's great. That is a terrific victory for election integrity.”
[15:55]

Cruz contrasts this with other states like California, where measures have been taken to make photo ID optional, implicitly encouraging voter fraud. By enshrining voter ID laws into the state constitution, Wisconsin sets a precedent that makes it significantly harder for future legislations to alter these requirements.

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Judicial Race Loss in Wisconsin: A Costly Defeat

Timestamp: [24:16]

Despite the victories, the Republicans faced a setback in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Cruz provides a detailed account of the overwhelmingly expensive campaign, highlighting the extensive financial resources poured into the race:

“More than $53.3 million was spent by Schimmel and his backers, including 12.2 million from Elon Musk's America PAC. And Crawford's campaign and those backing her have spent an estimated $45.1 million. So all told, $98 million.”
[22:09]

The loss of this judicial seat to a liberal Democrat, Susan Crawford, has significant implications for future rulings, including potential redistricting battles that could influence the political landscape in Wisconsin for years to come. Cruz underscores the high stakes involved:

“That's a massive amount of money. And listen, this is an unfortunate loss. There's gonna be some bad rulings in Wisconsin, including potentially redistricting rulings that have political consequences in Wisconsin.”
[22:09]

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Cory Booker Breaks Cruz’s Filibuster Record

Timestamp: [26:34]

Transitioning to Senate dynamics, the episode addresses Senator Cory Booker’s recent achievement in surpassing Cruz’s long-standing filibuster record. Booker set a new record with a 25-hour and four-minute speech on the Senate floor, eclipsing Cruz’s 21-hour and 19-minute filibuster from 2013.

Cruz reflects on his own filibuster:

“When I did the filibuster in 2013, I was a brand new baby freshman. And it was the theme of the filibuster was make D.C. listen. And I will tell you, it had a significant effect.”
[07:48]

He contrasts this with Booker’s motivations, suggesting that Booker’s efforts are more politically driven without the same substantive impact:

“What was Cory Booker talking about? ... I hate Donald Trump. I'm a Democrat. Trump bad. Orange man bad. I'm mad at the voters. Why did the voters elect Trump? Why did the voters elect a Republican Senate? Gosh, I'm mad at the voters.”
[40:37]

Cruz argues that his own filibuster had tangible political repercussions, contributing to the Republican wave in the 2014 midterms, whereas Booker’s filibuster lacks a clear agenda or long-term impact.

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Insights and Analysis

Throughout the discussion, Cruz emphasizes the strategic importance of the Republican victories in Florida and Wisconsin, framing them as essential for maintaining and advancing conservative policies. He also critiques the Democratic approach to elections, particularly the massive spending in efforts that often do not yield proportional results.

Regarding filibusters, Cruz provides a historical context by comparing his own experience in 2013 against Booker’s, highlighting the differences in objectives and outcomes. He suggests that Booker’s filibuster, while record-breaking, does not carry the same weight in terms of legislative progress or political influence.

Cruz also touches on the implications of the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, indicating that the loss could have long-term effects on political and electoral processes within the state, further solidifying his stance on the importance of judicial appointments aligned with conservative values.

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Notable Quotes

1. Ted Cruz on Election Victories:

   “Both of those were sizable victories. If you look at Randy Fine, he was literally outspent 10 to 1. I mean, it was massive. I've been in races where I've been outspent 3 to 1, but 10 to 1 is a massive funding disadvantage. And so that victory is really significant.”
   [11:34]

2. Cruz on Voter ID Law:

   “Wisconsin, the voters had on the ballot, should photo ID for voting be in the Wisconsin Constitution? And that won overwhelmingly. The vote was 63.2% to 36.8%. So it was a massive, almost a 30 point victory. That's great. That is a terrific victory for election integrity.”
   [15:55]

3. Cruz on Filibuster Comparison:

   “What was Cory Booker talking about? ... I hate Donald Trump. I'm a Democrat. Trump bad. Orange man bad. I'm mad at the voters.”
   [40:37]

4. Cruz on His Own Filibuster Impact:

   “When I did the filibuster in 2013, I was a brand new baby freshman. And it was the theme of the filibuster was make D.C. listen. And I will tell you, it had a significant effect.”
   [07:48]

---

Conclusions

In this episode, Verdict with Ted Cruz presents a comprehensive analysis of the recent Election Day results, celebrating key Republican victories that reinforce conservative control in pivotal states like Florida and Wisconsin. The discussion underscores the strategic importance of these wins in advancing political agendas and maintaining legislative momentum.

Conversely, the episode also addresses the significant loss in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, highlighting the substantial financial investments by both parties and the long-term implications of this judicial shift.

Finally, the breaking of Cruz’s filibuster record by Cory Booker serves as a focal point for contrasting legislative strategies and their respective impacts. Cruz’s reflection on his own filibuster underscores his belief in its effectiveness in shaping political outcomes, while Booker’s record-breaking effort is critiqued for lacking a similar substantive agenda.

Overall, the episode provides listeners with a detailed and engaging exploration of the current political landscape, offering insights into the dynamics of electoral victories and legislative maneuvers that will shape the future of American politics.

Transcript

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Ted Cruz]

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[Ben Ferguson]

Of us, personal finances aren't just personal. They include a lot more people than ourselves, loved ones, neighbors, the communities we call home, and the causes we hold in our hearts. At Thrivent, we help plan your financial picture with the bigger picture in mind. Because even though our business is helping guide your finances, our ambition is to make it mean so much more. Thrivent, where money means more. Connect with [e-mail] hey Clay, if there.

[Clay Travis]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

Those jelly heads in June would be intellectual warriors by August.

[Clay Travis]

Be a lot of fun too. Some Bill and Ted's excellent adventure references.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Clay Travis]

The Bonafide boot camp for critical thinking. You can get in on it for free at the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast. Just search our names Clay and Bach. Listen and subscribe.

[Buck Sexton]

Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz. Ben Ferguson with you as always, Senator. It was Election Day in some parts of America, but they were very significant, especially when it comes to control in the House and giving Trump a little bit of breathing room.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, we had Election Day in Florida and Wisconsin. A ton of money was spent on it. At the end of the day, the results were three wins and a loss. We'll break it down. We'll talk about exactly what happened, the money that was spent, and what the consequences are. Secondly, we have now seen as of yesterday, the longest filibuster in Senate history. And it was done by Cory Booker, Democrat from New Jersey, who spoke for 25 hours and frustratingly, infuriatingly beat the record of yours truly at over 21 hours. So we're going to break that down as well. And we're going to compare what Cory Booker was filibustering over to what I filibustered over in 2013. We'll discuss that as well.

[Buck Sexton]

Let me tell you quickly about the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews I had the honor of speaking at one of their religious gathering meetings where they had religious leaders from all over the world come together for a two day conference about protecting and standing with the people in Israel. And I came away more inspired than ever. And the work that they're doing in Israel is truly unbelievable. Unbelievable. They are providing life saving care for people and also they're providing things like bomb shelters, they're providing these armored ambulances which are saving lives because they're able to go into areas where there's a hostile environment and still be able to get the wounded out. That is exactly what they're doing with your donations. It's been more than a year of this war and terror and pain in Israel and the need for security essentials is what they need right now the most. They have to prepare for the next attack wherever it comes from. And Israel, we all know, is surrounded by enemies on all sides. So if you want to stand with the people in Israel and you want to help provide those bomb shelters, those armored security vehicles, those armored ambulances, firefighting equipment, flak jackets and bulletproof vests, there's a lot of needs. Your donation will help ensure the people of Israel are safe and secure for the days to come as threats of terrorism remain imminent all around them. How do you give a gift? Go to supportifcj.org that's supportifcj.org that'S one word. Support ifcj.org and you are going to have a true impact for the people in Israel. You can call as well and give a donation at 888 488, IFCJ. That's 888-488-IFCJ or supportifcj.org center before we start with all the politics, I got a great text message from someone today and it said, what the hell did Ted Cruz do to his beard? They didn't remember that it was April Fool's Day. And you had a, a brilliant tweet that you put out with some nice chops like you sawed beard.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, I did, I had had some fun with, with, with April Fools and, and, and so I, I, I tweeted today a very simple tweet that said Washington, D.C. can be a hairy place. But this morning's committee hearing reminded me just how important it is to cut, waste, shave down our debt and trim down the size of our government. And then it was a picture of my face Photoshopped so the beard was magically gone. And instead I had a big old honkin El Chapo mustache and I gotta say, look, look, look. As a Cuban American, I was pretty proud of the El Chapo mustache. I mean, it kind of.

[Buck Sexton]

It was believable. It was believable because my phone blew up. People saying, did he do this? When did he do this? Why did he. Did he lose a bet? What happened? Did he lose his bracket? And I just kept responding with April 1st. April 1st. Like, get there faster, guys. I. Everybody apparently thought your bracket as a basketball guy sucked, and it cost you your beard.

[Ted Cruz]

It was. You know, I don't know. I just might do it tomorrow, though. You never know. But. But. But it reminds me of when I first grew the beard, which was. Which was back, I think, 2018. You know, I grew the beard actually just for the hell of it. It was over Thanksgiving, and on the holidays, I would never shave. That's something I, for years, would never do. And I just came back from Thanksgiving and Monday morning, came into work in the Senate and just hadn't shaved. And actually, my top political guy, who you know very well, sent me this email that said, worst decision ever. And that really pissed me off. I'm like, all right, screw you. I'm gonna keep it. And. And I have. Although I will say it was your. And my friend Betty Johnson came and wanted to record a video, asked if I would do an instructional video on how to grow.

[Buck Sexton]

I remember this. Yeah.

[Ted Cruz]

And I said, sure. I said, come on in. Come in into my office. I sat at my desk. I said, all right, start recording. And I said, everyone, this is an instructional video on how to grow a beard. And I reached in a drawer of my desk, and I pulled out a razor, and I said, this is a razor. Don't use it. And that was the end of the video.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah. That was that simple. Well, I got in on the action because people laugh. They're like, how. How often do you and Senator Cruz talk? And I'm like, during the day, he's pretty busy. We'll exchange a text here and there, but there's a. There's a long delay when you're working. And so someone sent me, you know, your tweet. I'm laughing. I'm looking at it. And then I said, all right, I got to Photoshop this. So we took your beard, threw it on my new headshot, and then I put out a tweet, said, I'll keep the salt and pepper alive for you. That also went viral. It was a fun day to mess with people.

[Ted Cruz]

All right, but let's be clear. You did not take my beard and Put it on. You used AI to put a salt and pepper beard on you, because the beard, you put way more salt than pepper. No, no, no. Way more salt than pepper.

[Buck Sexton]

You. You noticed that? Because that was my little dig. I was like, is he gonna write back? That's too much gray. I was kind of wondering what I could get away with there. So I was told, and I'm quoting now, Ferguson, if this is real, shave it off. Shave it off right now. You cannot handle the beard. So the people have spoken. I don't think I'm growing a beard anytime soon, that I can promise you. All right, so let's.

[Ted Cruz]

You know what you could carry off, though, as a soul patch. I'm for a. On Ben Ferguson.

[Buck Sexton]

Can you imagine that? And a rat tail. Yeah. That's the end of my TV career, that's for sure. I did. By the way, you remember no Shave November? Do you remember that?

[Ted Cruz]

I. I do, yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

So when that. I, gosh, it was. I mean, this years ago, right when that thing happened and everybody was doing it, I was like, all right, I'll do it. Fine. So I. At the time, I was. I was fighting the commies at cnn. And towards the end of November, I got a text, I think it was from Aaron Burnett's executive producer, and I was supposed to be on her show. And they said, we also are inquiring, is the beard gone yet? Question mark. So it was pretty patchy. I couldn't sell it. It just didn't work. I'll have to unearth that picture and I'll throw it up on X for people to see, but it was pretty.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, look, Ben, once you hit puberty, you'll do just fine on that front.

[Buck Sexton]

Next time I'm going all white Santa beard when I copy yours. That's going to be my revenge here. All right, all right, let's talk elections. Election. We had Election Day in America, and there's two headlines here. If you watched CNN tonight, and I was watching Theater Reaction, they're saying it's a total disaster for Republicans. They spent all this money on the Supreme Court election in Wisconsin. Trump was involved, Musk was involved. And this is just a referendum on Donald Trump after he's been in office for 90 days. That is their narrative.

[Ted Cruz]

So you're saying CNN doesn't like Trump?

[Buck Sexton]

Yes, yes, that's exactly right.

[Ted Cruz]

I really. I had not picked up on that. So that's. That. That you're really good at reading between the lines. And, you know, both of their viewers, I think, probably picked up on that as well. Look, no doubt the results tonight were mixed. You and I are recording this. It is 12:15 in the morning, so the results are still coming in. And right now there were two congressional seats on the ballot in Florida. And one was Mike Waltz's seat, who is now the national security adviser for President Trump. The other is Matt Gaetz's seat, who stepped down when Trump named him as Attorney General and then ultimately withdrew the nomination. And both of them were incredibly tightly contested. And in fact, the Democrats spent like crazy. And the result, the Republicans won both of them. Now, they were pretty solidly Republican seats, but at the end of the day, Jimmy Petronas, the Republican, won with 56.9% to 42.3%. So that was a 15 point victory. And Randy Fine, the Republican won with 56.7% to 42.7%. And so both of those were sizable victories. If you look at Randy Fine, he was literally outspent 10 to 1. I mean, it was massive. I've been in races where I've been outspent 3 to 1, but 10 to 1 is a massive funding disadvantage. And so that victory is really significant.

[Buck Sexton]

So you look at this, and let's talk about how important this was for Donald Trump's America's first agenda. There was a razor thief thin majority in the House, and this gives a little bit of breathing room now for Donald Trump's agenda to have a chance to make it through. It's also going to help Mike Johnson, I think, significantly not have to capitulate and pander to any yahoo that wakes up and decides either A, want to be famous or B, want to throw something in with pork, or C, just want to be a pain in his aws. Now, it gives him the ability, I think, to actually be a better speaker. Is that you agree with that?

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, no, I think that's right. Look, we have had an excruciatingly small majority in the House, and to be clear, that is why President Trump withdrew the nomination of Elise Stefanik to be UN Ambassador, because she had been nominated to be UN Ambassador. But if she was confirmed and she resigned, there'd be a vacancy. And the New York Governor, Kathy Hochul, was threatening to basically play games and keep the seat vacant for the rest of the year, which would have shrunk the majority by one. And listen, special elections are always dangerous and always risky. Strange outcomes can occur. And so the president, at the end of the day, I think, quite rightly decided that risking the very narrow House majority was dangerous. And to Elise's credit. I think Elise would have done a terrific job as UN Ambassador, but I appreciate her putting the interest of the country ahead and saying she was not gonna risk the House majority. But the result as of today is the Republican majority has two more Republicans in the House. And that will help, that will give the speaker some breathing room. That, that will, that will help us extend the, the Trump tax cuts, that will help us secure the border, that will help us win on victory after victory. So that was a very good result. And, and Florida, had those been losses, had even one of those been losses, it would have been, it would have been a serious, serious setback. And, and the media would have gone crazy.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, and that goes back to the money game, what you mentioned earlier. Democrats just decided we're going to just spend virtually every dollar we can get our there, throw jello at a wall, hope that something sticks, and maybe we flip one of these seats because like you said, if that happened, it could have been catastrophic for Donald Trump's agenda.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah. And look, that can make special elections very dangerous because often the party out of power is particularly energized. They're angry, their base is agitated, and so they can be willing to pour a whole bunch of money into it. And that is certainly happening. Now, Wisconsin, look, Wisconsin is a much more purple to blue state than Florida. Florida's gotten quite red. Wisconsin, there were two major elections on the ballot, and we split. We won one and we lost one. So the one we won was a constitutional amendment to put into the Wisconsin state constitution a voter ID requirement, a requirement that you show photo ID to vote. Now, that is existing Wisconsin law, but that's just a statute. In other words, the next legislature could change that could get rid of voter id. And that remains a major priority for Democrats across the country. In fact, in California, they've gone so far as to make it illegal to ask for photo ID for voting. So they're actively and openly encouraging voter fraud in California by doing so. Well, Wisconsin, the voters had on the ballot, should photo ID for voting be in the Wisconsin Constitution? And that won overwhelmingly. The vote was 63.2% to 36.8%. So it was a massive, almost a 30 point victory. That's great. That is a terrific victory for election integrity. Wisconsin is a swing state, and so voter fraud is particularly dangerous in a swing state like Wisconsin. And so that's a great victory. It is.

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[Ted Cruz]

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[Ben Ferguson]

For some of us, personal finances aren't just personal. They include a lot more people than ourselves. Loved ones, neighbors, the communities we call home, and the causes we hold in our hearts. At Thrivent, we help plan your financial picture with the bigger picture in mind. Because even though our business is helping guide your finances, our ambition is to make it mean so much more. Thrivent where money means more Connect with.

[Ted Cruz]

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[Rodney Williams]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

The best way to understand all sides of an issue is to know all sides of an issue.

[Clay Travis]

Can't get that in the mainstream media. Which is why you've gotta listen to some Clay and Buck for another point of view.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Buck, why are you going third person?

[Clay Travis]

Because, Clay, I think this ad is running in places that might not exactly align with all of our politics or even know who we are.

[Ryan Seacrest]

It's impossible. But maybe if it's true. I bet if they did listen, they'd end up agreeing with us on at least one issue, even if they secretly want admitted.

[Clay Travis]

Well, the only way they're going to find out is if they download the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton show podcast on the iHeartRadio app or wherever they get their pods.

[Ryan Seacrest]

We're easy to find. Unlike your wife at Costco, Clay, you speak the truth.

[Clay Travis]

But we're already losing people.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I think I gained one or two just now.

[Clay Travis]

In case you haven't noticed, we like to have a lot of fun as well as talk about what's going on in the world.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Come hang with us today and every day at Clay and buck. Download the iHeartRadio app, search out those names. Clay Travis, Buck Sexton, and come hang.

[Buck Sexton]

So those are our three big victories. Extremely important, especially like you said on the voter id, that's going to give a signal to other states, move forward on this. The American people want it and we'll probably see a trend come out of that. That's good news, obviously. So let's talk about the loss. And the headline in all the media is liberal judge wins in Wisconsin. That's what they want you to know. They don't want you to know the GOP swept Florida. They don't want you to know that voter ID law became a thing in the swing state. They're all obsessed now with this, quote, liberal judge winning lot of money in this race. President was involved Musk was involved. So they're saying this is a referendum on Donald Trump. I think that's obviously going way too far. This is special election time. Everybody dialed down the crazy.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah. Now, to be clear on the photo ID law in Wisconsin, it wasn't that it became the law because it is current law right now. What happened is it got added to the Constitution, so now it is much, much harder for Democrats to take it away. It's enshrined in the state constitution. And so it would take a constitutional amendment to get rid of it. And so that's a major victory. But the loss, the loss was a real one. And it was an election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. It was election between Susan Crawford, who is a liberal Democrat, and Brad Schimmel, who is a conservative. And the result at the end of the day was that the liberal won 54.4% to 45.6%. So that was a nine point victory. That was a sizable victory. And the result of it is control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. So the court was in the ballots. This was the swing seat. And I gotta tell you, the money that was spent in this race, how much do you think was spent in Wisconsin?

[Buck Sexton]

I'm gonna guess tens of millions of dollars.

[Ted Cruz]

Knowing how important this was, at minimum, $98 million. $98 million on a judicial race in Wisconsin. Uh, Yahoo News is reporting that according to the Bren Brennan center for justice, more than $53.3 million was spent by Schimmel and his backers, including 12.2 million from Elon Musk's America PAC. And Crawford's campaign and those backing her have spent an estimated $45.1 million. So all told, $98 million. That, that, that is to the best of my knowledge. In fact, I was gonna say that that's the most it's ever been spent on a judicial race. But if I read the next sentence on the article, it would say the spending has made the Wisconsin race the most expensive in US Judicial history, which it clearly is. I don't know what's second, but it ain't even close. That's a massive amount of money. And listen, this is an unfortunate loss. There's gonna be some bad rulings in Wisconsin, including potentially redistricting rulings that have political consequences in Wisconsin. And so it is unfor grateful. Elon leaned in hard on this, but it's worth remembering. Wisconsin is a purple state. And on election day in 24, we had mixed outcomes in Wisconsin. Donald Trump won Wisconsin. Barely, but he won. But we lost the Senate seat. Tammy Baldwin, the incumbent Democrat Eric Hovdi was challenging and he lost. Unfortunately, we didn't pick up the Senate seat. And right now Wisconsin is one of the relatively few states that has a Republican senator and a Democrat senator. So it's split. You've got Ron Johnson, a Republican, a conservative, a good friend of mine, and you got Tammy Baldwin, who is a liberal Democrat. And so in a purple state, in a state that is evenly divided, you would expect that we win some races and we lose some races. And so all told, I'm really happy about the three victories, but I would have been happier with four victories.

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[Ted Cruz]

Well, Cory Booker, Democrat from New Jersey, has now set the record for the longest speech in history on the Senate floor. And he spe spoke for 25 hours and four minutes. And so it was incredibly long. It surpassed. The record had been held by Strom Thurmond, who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes in 1957, and he was filibustering. Strom Thurmond was filibustering the 1957 Civil Rights Act. And that had been the record until last night when Cory Booker broke it. Now, fourth all time is yours truly. I used to be third all time, but Cory knocked me down. And so my record in 2013, I spoke on the Senate floor for 21 hours and 19 minutes. And so Cory just beat me. I will say I tweeted out right before he broke my record. And so I took to Twitter and tweeted out. As Cory Booker approaches my 21 hour filibuster record, I'm contemplating pulling the fire alarm hat tip. Jamaal Bowman. And I sent out a picture of Jamaal Bowman, the Democrat Congressman, pulling the fire alarm in the Capitol to avoid a vote. And I will say that tweet went viral. And in fact, Corey ended up at the end of his. His 25 hour filibuster, reading that tweet on the Senate floor, which. Which was. Which I enjoyed it. I actually like Cory and he and I are friends, and so I'm glad he read it. And I will say, in my 2013 filibuster, I read a number of tweets on the Senate floor, and I believe that was the first time in history a tweet had ever been read on the Senate floor. And I read a whole bunch of them. Now, there is a significant difference between what I was filibustering over and what Cory Booker was filibustering over. What I was filibustering over was Obamacare. And I was doing so because it was right when Obamacare was going into effect. And I was trying to stop it from going into effect because the American people, it was having the effect of driving up premiums, dramatically reducing choices. Barack Obama famously said, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. And millions of Americans discovered That was not the case. That was a lie. In fact, politifact named Barack Obama's, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. The lie of the year. And for them to admit a Democrat is lying is really Quite remarkable because PolitiFact lies for a living. And so that filibuster, when I did it in 2013, I was a brand new baby freshman. And it was the theme of the filibuster was make D.C. listen. And I will tell you, it had a significant effect. And in fact, it energized people across the country. And I'll point to what the effect was in 2014. The next year, we had an election and it was a tsunami election. Republicans ended up winning nine Senate seats. We retired Harry Reid as Majority leader, and we ended up winning the biggest majority in the House of representatives since 1928. And if you look at exit polling in 20, that 2014 election, the number one issue in the country, according to the voters that were turning out in massive numbers, was Obamacare. And they were saying, finally, finally, you're fighting. Finally, Republicans are not rolling over. And so that had, I think, a very significant effect on Election Day and helped win back both the Senate and House for Republicans. I don't think Cory Booker's is gonna have that same effect. And in fact, listen, I don't know how many people watched it. I suspect, like, that CNN and MSNBC was probably gushing about it. But I'll confess, I didn't turn on CNN or msnbc. So I don't know one way or the other. I don't particularly care. The seven rabid partisans who watch those networks probably were quite happy with it. But at the end of the day, look, what was Cory Booker talking about? As best I can tell, it was, I hate Donald Trump. I'm a Democrat. Trump bad. Orange man bad. I'm mad at the voters. Why did the voters elect Trump? Why did the voters elect a Republican Senate? Why did the voters elect a Republican House? Gosh, I'm mad at the voters. Gosh, I hate Trump. I'm not sure there's anything new there. I'm not sure. Was there a person in America who was confused yesterday and didn't know that Senate Democrats hate Donald Trump? Was there any new information in it? And so I've gotta say I'm skeptical that it's gonna have a meaningful impact. And I'll point out it's not just me who said said that. Take a listen to what Joe Biden's communications director, Kate Bedingfield said about Cory.

[Ben Ferguson]

Booker speech, the Democratic base and Democratic donors are looking for signs of life. And so I think what Senator Booker is giving them here are, is some signs of life. Is it going to have a tangible impact on business?

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, if he is still alive.

[Ben Ferguson]

After this, may have a tangible impact on Senator Booker, but it won't have a tangible impact on business in Washington.

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, that's CNN saying it, Senator. And look, it was, they changed.

[Ted Cruz]

And that's Biden's communications director. It's Biden's communication director, amazingly enough. And so look, Cory, that's fine. Now I will tell you. So it was funny. As Booker was giving his filibuster, reporters were all running up to me and then they all knew that he was, he was aiming to beat my record. So they were asking me about it and they said, did you have any advice? And I will admit Cory didn't ask me for any advice. So no, I did not give him any advice on this. But I did share a story. So when I did the filibuster in 2013, I had gotten some advice from Rand Paul. So Rand Paul had done a 13 hour filibuster and I was planning to do mine. And Rand, I asked him, hey Rand, you got any advice? Because he'd just done 13 hours. And he said, yeah, two things. He said, number one, wear comfortable shoes. Because he said, your feet and your legs will be killing you. And I will confess, as you know, every day in the Senate, I wear black cowboy boots. The boots, I wear alligator boots. And they have the Senate seal on the front and on the back of it, they have the come and take it flag. And so that's my standard footwear in the Senate. But for the filibuster, I went to the store and I bought some black tennis shoes. And in the middle of the filibuster at like 2 or 3 in the morning, I confessed to the people of Texas. I said, look, I just have to apologize to the people of Texas. I'm sorry I didn't have the courage of my convictions to wear my boots. I weenied out and got black tennis shoes. But. But I was planning on standing here for a really long time and. And so I will admit the tennis shoes are more comfortable for the marathon time. The second bit of advice Rand gave.

[Buck Sexton]

Me, I gotta ask you. Yeah, I gotta ask you though, when you're picking out the tennis shoes, did you buy brand new or did you wear them a little bit beforehand?

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, I didn't break them in and they were Fine. And I don't think I've ever worn them since then. Like, I literally. They wore them for the filibuster and that was it. But, but fortunately, even though they were new, they, they were, they were pretty comfortable. They, they were not bad at all. The second bit of advice Rand gave me was, was if anything, even more important. He said, drink very little water. And in fact, Rand said when he ended at 13 hours, he said my legs didn't take me, didn't make me give in, my bladder did. And the most common question that I would get about the filibuster is, okay, what do you do about going to the bathroom? And the real simple answer is you don't. So the rules of a filibuster, you have to stand, you cannot sit, and you have to stay on the Senate floor. If you sit or if you leave the Senate floor, you relinquish the floor. And that's why comfortable shoes matter, because you're not allowed, technically, not even allowed to lean on the desk. Although that, that rule is not, not heavily enforced. So you can lean a little bit, but you can't, but, but you can't. Can't sit. And, and legend has it that during Strom Thurman's filibuster, that, that, that he had an aide hold a bucket in, in, in, in the Senate cloak room. And, and, and, and he, he took a leak while filibustering while standing on the Senate floor. I figured in the, in the era of, of C span, that probably wasn't the best idea. So, so I was not going to do that. And so for the entire course of 21 plus hours, I drank one tiny little glass of water. And that, that's all. I basically would take a little sip just to, just to moisten my throat. And, and I gotta say, look, I never gone 21 hours without going to the bathroom. And you know, I discovered a very simple principle, which is nothing in, nothing out. And so it was, it was fine. But that was excellent advice.

[Buck Sexton]

When does your mind start to wander? I mean, at what point do you feel like you're getting a little bit, you know, Delusional is the best word I can use. There's got to be a certain point where you're sitting there going, you know, it's like when you do an all nighter in college. You kind of slap yourself on the face. You're like, all right, I gotta wake up, walk around the room and sit back down. When does that fatigue hit?

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, it wasn't too bad. I mean, it was, look, it was energized. And I was telling us a story. I was talking about the very real people being harmed by Obamacare, and I was telling people stories and I was laying out facts and figures and data. And so I had a lot of material that I was presenting. As I mentioned, I read tweets about the harms from Obamacare. And we started the hashtag makedclisten, which went viral during the filibuster. And so it really was, look, just like we're doing in this podcast. It was an effort to communicate with the American people. But now we also had some fun. So the rules do allow you to yield to another senator for a question. And so you can yield for a question without yielding the floor. And so what happens during a long filibuster is that people will come and support you. And so I had multiple senators come and support me and they would. Mike Lee did the most heroic. He was there for a great deal of the filibuster. And what you could do is he would stand as I up there and he'd say, would the senator yield for a question? And I'd respond, I'm happy to yield for a question without yielding the floor. And then Mike could ask a 30 or 45 minute question and basically give a speech. And then at the end of it say, don't you agree? And so it would let you rest your voice because if you speak, you know, I know, I know you do radio for a living, but if you speak 20, 21 hours without pausing, your vocal cords will be pretty ragged. So it, so it was helpful to have, have folks go and spell you for a little while. And I will say, you know, at like 3 and 4 in the morning, Mike was there and he gets really punch drunk when he, when he's tired. And so we were. He was reading like, like bad jokes and 70s rock lyrics. And look, one of the things people remember from my filibuster is that I read Green Eggs and Ham on, on the Senate floor. Now what a lot of people don't know is, is why I read Green Eggs and Ham. Do you know why?

[Buck Sexton]

Your daughters.

[Ted Cruz]

Yes. So look at the time. My girls were three and five. And when I was home every night I would read them a bedtime story, which I'm sure you do with your kids too. But that was my practice when they were little. And so it was their bedtime. And so we called home and told them, turn on the tv. And so I read Green Eggs and Ham. And there is a picture in My office, which you've seen, and it's both girls. They're in matching pajamas. And Catherine was three years old, and she has her little hand on the tv, and she's touching it, and she's just sort of watching in wonderment. Her daddy read her Green Eggs and ham on TV. And Caroline, who was 5, is just cracking up, laughing. I love the picture because she's just, like, laughing hysterically. And look, Caroline can be cynical with her dad. Not a whole lot I've done in the Senate has impressed her. And she. When I came home, she was 5, and she had her arms crossed, and she was like, okay, dad, that was pretty cool. And I was like, all right. I was psyched that the bedtime story had earned some brownie points with the girls at home.

[Buck Sexton]

All right, so final question on this. And this is, I'm sure, something that was going through your mind, Cory Booker's mind. When did you know you were just going to end it? How do you decide? Are you looking at a certain time in your mind where you're like, I got to make it to X. And then as soon as it hits, I'm done? What is the process of that as well?

[Ted Cruz]

Well, actually, I could have gone longer. And the problem was, in order to do the filibuster, a pure filibuster is when the Senate floor is wide open and you take control of the filibuster, and it is the prerogative of every senator, have unlimited debate. And so if you take control of the floor, you can hold it for as long as you are able to hold it. When I started the filibuster, unfortunately, Harry Reid, then the majority leader, the Democrats were in charge, had locked in a unanimous consent resolution that the next day there was a vote scheduled, I think, at noon. And it was locked in, which meant I had an endpoint. I had an endpoint that was a wall because that unanimous consent had been locked in. And so it trumps. It's effectively a Senate rule. And so when I was north of 21 hours, I had plenty of strength. I could have kept going. And I really wanted to break Strom Thurmond's record. And I actually sent one of my staffers to ask Harry Reid if he would consent. I could have asked unanimous consent to be allowed to complete my speech, and if read it aloud, I would have been able to. So I asked my staffer. I'm like, look, do you really want the record for the longest filibuster to be held by a segregationist who was filibustering against the civil rights laws, like I'd really love to break it. And Harry Reid being Harry Reid, he just said no. And so I was forced to end. When I did Cory Booker, there was not a unanimous consent in place locking up the time. And so Corey was able to go long enough as long as he wanted and then he was able to break the record.

[Buck Sexton]

Don't forget, we do this show Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Hit that subscriber auto download button and make sure you tell again your family and friends about this show as it continues to grow and hopefully make a difference and educate a lot of people about what's going on in Washington. Grab my show on those in between days, the Ben Ferguson Podcast. I'll keep you updated on the latest breaking news on those days, and the Senator and I will see you back here on Friday morning.

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Clay Travis]

Was a summer camp for critical thinking, we'd be the chief counselors.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Those jelly heads in June would be intellectual warriors by August.

[Clay Travis]

Be a lot of fun too. Some Bill and Ted's excellent adventure references.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Thrown in this podcast like a daily dose of that. Minus the campfires, archery and pranking, the girls.

[Clay Travis]

The bonafide boot camp for critical thinking. You can get in on it for free at the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast. Just search our names Clay and Bach. Listen and subscribe.