As Republicans face scary midterm polls, Ted Cruz blames ‘transgender witches’

Ahead of Halloween and a potentially scary midterm election for Republicans, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz blamed transgender witches for tight Senate polls.

During an interview with Fox News, Cruz was asked why so many Republican-held Senate seats were toss-ups this year. Cruz acknowledged the frightening environment for the GOP — “there are eight to 10 Senate races that are tied or within the margin of error” — before saying Republicans appear cursed because their party is in power.

“This happens a lot in midterms, where the party out of power, they’re usually ticked off,” he said. “And right now, if you’re a left-wing transgender witch, you hate Donald Trump, and you’re going to show up. You’re energized.”

Cruz was being interviewed in Fairbanks, Alaska, where he was campaigning with Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan. The incumbent nodded along with Cruz.

Related: Ted Cruz uses unauthorized images of cisgender students in anti-transgender attack ads

Sullivan’s record on transgender rights includes signing Republican letters opposing protections for transgender athletes and criticizing gender-affirming care for minors, according to the Anchorage Daily News. Those letters challenged policies allowing transgender athletes to participate in sports based on their gender identity and supporting access to gender-affirming care for minors.

But Sullivan told Alaska Public Media in 2017 that he opposed President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender troops serving in the military. More recently, efforts to identify and discharge transgender service members have drawn comparisons to a witch hunt.

Cruz followed his anti-trans remarks by saying “ordinary” Alaskans hold the power to break left-wing trans voters’ spell.

Related: Ted Cruz uses transphobia to distort Colin Allred’s support for Equality Act during Texas U.S. Senate debate

“Does everybody else show up? Do conservatives show up? Do libertarians show up? Do just common sense Americans who are not lunatics who don’t think communism and Islamism are a good idea,” Cruz said. “If regular, ordinary Americans show up to vote, Dan Sullivan’s going to be reelected here in Alaska, and we're going to win Senate seats and House seats all over the country.”

The rest of the interview featured Sullivan and Cruz distancing themselves from Trump’s decision to import diesel fuel from Russia, which both senators opposed.

Polls included in The New York Times’s polling tracker show a tight Senate race in Alaska, with Sullivan trailing Democrat Mary Peltola in the most recent survey listed.