Texas Senator Ted Cruz is defending his heavy podcasting amidst his bid for a third term in 2024. Ever since 2020, the Republican has put out thrice-weekly episodes of Verdict with iHeartPodcasts. Cruz’ Democratic challenger, Representative Colin Allred, is trying to spin the podcast as a negative – that Cruz is busier being a podcaster than a senator.
Allred argues that Cruz’s podcast is a self-promoting endeavor that detracts from the serious job of legislating and delivering constituent services. In a statement to Business Insider, Cruz dismissed the comments, saying, “Congressman Allred’s idea that communicating with voters is somehow separate from the job is a bizarre and frankly silly idea. The podcast is an incredibly valuable tool to explain the issues facing America.”
Cruz continued to talk about long-form audio’s usefulness: “If you go do a TV hit, which I do every week, you’re on for six, eight minutes. You have a soundbite or two, and there’s value to that, but you can’t really sit down and explain an issue in substance.”
