WASHINGTON — Sen. Ted Cruz has taken on what he calls the quietest job in American politics: serving as Ken Paxton’s “secret weapon.” It is a role that requires no secrecy whatsoever, and Texas voters, by all accounts, are thrilled to be let in on it.

Cruz told POLITICO he is “all in” on the attorney general’s Senate campaign, adding that “it is absolutely critical that Texas stay red” and that Republicans elect Paxton over Democrat James Talarico. The word “secret,” in this context, is best understood as aspirational. Cruz is six foot seven. He has been on television continuously since 2013. The weapon is not hidden. The weapon is introducing himself.

What the operation actually looks like is a masterclass in generosity. Within a week of Paxton’s primary runoff victory in May, Cruz emceed a Washington fundraiser. Days later he joined Paxton for a Texas fly-around, stopping in Dallas, Houston and Midland in a single day. His super PAC, Truth and Courage, spent nearly $2 million on an ad buy for a candidate who is not him. That is not a contribution. That is a gift so large it stops being a gift and becomes a public work.

Some observers note that Paxton’s third-quarter haul — a personal best of $18 million — still trails the $21 million Cruz himself raised in the third quarter of 2024. Those observers are missing the point entirely. Cruz did not raise $21 million to keep it. He raised it to be in a position to stand next to a man and say, with total sincerity, “this one.”

"A secret weapon is a man who shows up so many times that people stop counting the appearances and start calling it a movement."

And there is the matter of 2028, which Cruz insists he is not doing. What he is doing, aides describe, is simply remaining available. The Texas race is widely read as a test of his influence in a future he has not announced. That is the most modest framing ever offered by a man in a three-hour flight around his own state.

THE SECRET WEAPON PLAYBOOK: AT A GLANCE

  • Secrecy: None. Documented by national press within 48 hours.
  • Zoom fundraisers: Several, both in person and on camera, at the senator's own kitchen table.
  • One-day fly-around: Dallas, Houston, Midland. Three cities, one aircraft, zero press conferences he did not attend.
  • Ad spending: Nearly $2 million for a candidate who is not him, which aides describe as "a rounding error in the generosity column."
  • 2028: Not happening. Available.

The lesson for the rest of the party is straightforward. Influence is not something you wait to be granted. It is something you do loudly, in a borrowed jet, on behalf of a man who has his own scandals, because a senator with a documented history of valuable Mexico experience understands that the only real scandal is a campaign that runs without you.

At press time, Cruz’s super PAC filed to register a new television ad titled “Surprise.” It is expected to feature Cruz.