Ted Cruz maintains ties to right-wing group despite its extremist messaging Beth Reinhard and Neena Satija, The Washington Post April 23, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail Republican colleagues applaud Texas Sen. Ted Cruz after he challenged the certification of Arizona's presidential election results on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.Washington Post photo by Bill O'Leary On Aug. 4, 2019, the day after a gunman who had posted a hateful diatribe against Hispanics fatally shot 23 people at an El Paso Walmart, a leader of a tea party group in Texas said on Facebook, "You're not going to demographically replace a once proud, strong people without getting blow-back."