On the night Republicans gathered to mourn the murder of Charlie Kirk and warn against the dangers of violent rhetoric, a crowd at the party’s ragged midterm convention in Dallas repeatedly called for the shooting of a sitting Senate candidate, while the Republican senator at the podium never denounced or even noticed the outbursts. The outbursts occurred repeatedly during Ted Cruz’s speech Thursday night at the American Airlines hub, when he named a Democrat he accused of holding radical views. After the senator mentioned New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a video shows at least one audience member yelling, “They should shoot him!” The same cry continued when Cruz named Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and again after he named Texas Senate candidate James Talarico. Cruz did not pause or respond to the screams, and it is unclear if he heard them from the stage. Cruz did not respond to a request for comment. Cruz had accused Mamdani of wanting to take over the means of production, said El-Sayed felt an “obligation” to follow Sharia law and claimed Talarico wanted to dismantle capitalism. Each characterization extended beyond comments the three men had made in other contexts. When asked about the moment on CNN’s The Source With Kaitlan Collins, El-Sayed said such rhetoric had become dangerously normalized and should unsettle anyone who hears it. He asked Republicans to name the chant for what it was: an incitement that both parties should reject, and appealed for a return to a policy focused on people’s basic needs and dignity. “Look, I’m a father of two daughters, and I hope those daughters grow up and live with their father. This is what has become the norm in our politics… it literally calls for violence and the inability for anyone to actually report it,” El-Sayed said. “We can learn to disagree agreeably, and when you hear that kind of call for violence, we should all shudder,” he added. A spokesman for Mike Rogers, the former Republican congressman who challenged El-Sayed for Michigan’s open Senate seat, who was in Dallas for the convention, said Rogers condemned the comments and “all political violence.” spoke of his friendship with Kirk during a keynote speech. El-Sayed is locked in one of the most closely watched Senate races of the cycle. A CNN poll released Wednesday showed him leading Rogers 47% to 44% in the race to succeed outgoing Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, as both parties fight for control of the chamber.
