Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones reportedly donated $20,000 to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s re-election bid, according to Front Office Sports.
Jones’ donation to Cruz may have come at a much bigger price to those who believe in superstition, however.
The “Ted Cruz curse” is a popular sports theory that is based on a pattern of unfortunate events happening to teams that Cruz has associated with. The curse has become so widespread that fans of the Texas Longhorns college football team launched a petition on Change.org to keep Cruz away from the university’s sporting events. Cruz was infamously blamed after the Longhorns lost in January’s Sugar Bowl.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) questions U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe, during a hearing about the attempted assassination of ex-President Donald Trump at a campaign rally, convened by the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees, Washington, DC, July 30, 2024. (ALLISON BAILEY/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
But now Jones has made the interaction with Cruz a financial one in a big election year. And Jones’ reported $20,000 donation to the curse-associated senator has been revealed amid a surprisingly bad start for the Cowboys.
The Cowboys fell to 3-4 on the season this past weekend when they lost to the San Francisco 49ers 30-24, in an ongoing streak of losses to the storied rivalry that includes two playoff defeats in the last three years. The Cowboys defense has been one of the worst in the league, both before and after injuries to star pass rushers Micah Parsons and Demarcus Lawrence.
Meanwhile, star quarterback Dak Prescott has regressed from his MVP candidacy last year after signing the largest contract in NFL history with the team just hours before its first game of the season. Prescott has thrown eight interceptions to just 10 touchdowns through the first seven games, and is on pace for the worst passer rating of his career this season.
Overall, it’s the Cowboys’ worst start since 2020, when the team finished 6-10 and in third place in the NFC East, where they currently sit now. It’s especially surprising given the high expectations Dallas had going into the season off the heels of three straight 12-win campaigns.
Meanwhile, Cruz is fighting in a highly competitive race to retain his seat against Democrat challenger Collin Allred.
TEXAS DEM ALLRED SAYS HE OPPOSES ‘BOYS IN GIRLS’ SPORTS’ DESPITE PAST OF ALLOWING IT
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz speaks at the Republican National Convention. (Fox News)
Real Clear Politics polling average shows Cruz with a five-point lead in the race. There are some troubling signs for the Republican incumbent, including recent polls that show Cruz with a lead close to within the margin of error.
Some polls leading up to Cruz’s 2018 Senate race with former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, showed a similarly close race, though Cruz was able to hold off the Democratic challenger by under three percentage points.
But that close win was also a stark departure from Cruz’s 2012 victory, when he easily topped former Texas Democratic state Rep. Paul Sadler by nearly 16 percentage points.
Cruz himself said that he is “in the middle of an epic battle” against Allred in a recent interview on Fox News’ “Life, Liberty & Levin.”
One method that Allred’s campaign has used to target Cruz is the stigma of his sports curse, and Texas Democrats have even dedicated a page on their website to pushing the theory.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Democrat Texas Rep. Colin Allred (left) and Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (right). (Getty Images)
“Sports fans from across Texas are suffering from the same affliction: the Ted Cruz curse… Want to win? Lose Cruz,” Allred said in the ad.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
