On the night that Republicans gathered to mourn the murder of Charlie Kirk and warn against the dangers of violent rhetoric, the crowd at the party’s irregular midterm convention in Dallas repeatedly called for the shooting of a sitting Senate candidate, while the Republican senator on the podium never condemned or even noted the outbursts.
Outbursts came up repeatedly during Ted Cruz’s Thursday night speech at the American Airlines Center when he named a Democrat he accused of holding radical views. After the senator mentioned New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the video footage shows at least one member of the audience shouting, “He should be shot!” The same outcry came when Cruz named Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, and again after he named Texas Senate candidate James Talarico. Cruz did not stop or react to the screams, and it remains unclear whether he heard them from the stage. Cruz did not respond to requests for comment.
Cruz accused Mamdani of wanting to seize the means of production, said El-Sayed felt an “obligation” to follow Sharia law, and said Talarico wanted to destroy capitalism. Each characterization extended beyond remarks that the three men actually made in other contexts.
Asked about this point on CNN’s “The Source with Caitlan Collins,” El-Sayed said such rhetoric has become dangerously normalized and that it should concern anyone who hears it. He called on Republicans to call the slogan what it was: an incitement that both sides should reject, and called for a return to politics based on the basic needs and dignity of people.
“Look, I’m the father of two daughters, and I hope that those daughters grow up and live with their father. This is what has become the norm in our politics…literally calls for violence and the inability of anyone to actually call it out,” El-Sayed said.
“We can learn to agree to disagree, and when you hear this kind of call for violence, we should all shudder,” he added.
A spokesman for Mike Rogers, the former Republican congressman challenging El-Sayed for an open Michigan Senate seat who was in Dallas for the convention, said Rogers condemned the remarks and “any political violence.”
The convention fell on the first anniversary of the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, which was repeatedly mentioned by Republican speakers, including Vice President J.D. Vance, who spoke of his friendship with Kirk during the keynote address.
El-Sayed is in one of the most closely watched Senate races. A CNN poll released Wednesday showed him leading Rogers 47% to 44% in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters as the two parties battle for control of the House.