A state-by-state solution doesn't work in this case because conferences are, by design, national. Texas can't regulate what a university in Oklahoma does, and Oklahoma can't regulate what a university in Alabama does. The only way to have national-level rules is at the federal level. I'm a strong believer in the principle of federalism. Montesquieu and others have said that as much government as possible should be local, everything except what must be at the state level should be local, as much government as possible should be at the state level, and only what must be at the federal level should be at the national level. Because we're dealing here with inter-state competition, inter-state commerce, and inter-state competition that culminates in a national championship every year, the only level of government with the authority to deal with these issues is the federal government.
COASTER: My final question is about politics. You're running for re-election to a third term this year. Do you think Texas voters, overall, are leaning more conservative, more progressive or more centrist?
Cruz: I think it's both. Texas is changing a lot. When I was first elected in 2012, there were 26 million Texans. Today, there are over 30 million Texans. There are many reasons for that, but the biggest reason is that Texas has jobs. People are packing up and moving from light blue states like New York, California, Illinois. They're moving to red states where there are lower taxes, less regulation, and a more favorable environment for small business and job creation. I think Texas needs to protect what we have. We need to keep Texas Texas. But when I look at the migration to Texas, I can break it down into two groups.
First, there are people in blue states who are fed up. They can't stand the high taxes, the regulations, the woke policies. They couldn't stand the COVID lockdowns and shutdowns and school closures. They look around the country and ask themselves, “Where do I want to be?” and they choose Texas. The data shows that the people who come to Texas are actually more conservative than the median Texas voter. They come to Texas and buy their pickup trucks and their boots and their hats and their shotguns. I call them “refugees seeking freedom.” I want them all to keep coming to Texas.
There is a second group, which is companies relocating to Texas and transferring their employees to Texas. In this case, the individual employees did not decide that they “want to be in Texas.” Many of them simply decided to relocate while still keeping their jobs. In my experience, many of these employees vote exactly the same way they voted in their home state. There are many in the first category, and many in the second category. Texas is in flux, and I think that is exactly what is being debated right now in real time.
