During their second — and perhaps last — U.S. Senate debate, Republican incumbent Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, went back and forth on a number of issues Tuesday night in San Antonio, including the economy, the impact of the #MeToo movement and civility in politics. The debate got heated at times, and both candidates slung attacks at one another throughout the night. But how much of what they said was true? 
 
 Did Cruz invest more than $5 million in Cambridge Analytica? 
 
 The candidates opened the debate with a lively back-and-forth over whether Congress should regulate social media content to protect the nation’s ballot boxes. But before giving his answer, O’Rourke noted that it was “interesting” Cruz invested more than $5 million in Cambridge Analytica, the data mining firm that used data from millions of Facebook users without their permission. 
 
 “He voted against safeguarding the integrity of our election box,” O’Rourke said of Texas’ junior senator. 
 
 It’s true Cruz’s 2016 campaign relied on Cambridge Analytica for more than $5.8 million in services, according to Federal Election Commission records. However, Cruz previously told the Tribune that his campaign used the firm to assist in data analysis and online advertising and that all data used by the firm “were legally obtained” and “in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.” Cruz said at Tuesday's debate he believes Congress should do more to protect the integrity of the election but added that he didn’t believe it was the “government’s job to regulate the contents of comments online.” 
 
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 Did O’Rourke vote to support late-term abortions? 
 
 Asked whether Texans should expect the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade to get overturned with the newly announced appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, Cruz said he wouldn’t speculate — but he mentioned that O’Rourke has “voted in favor of late-term abortions and taxpayer-funded abortions.” 
 
 O’Rourke is a longtime supporter of abortion rights. In October 2017, when the U.S. House voted 237-189 to pass Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act — a measure that effectively banned abortions after 20 weeks — O’Rourke was one of the (mostly Democratic) no votes. 
 
 The measure later died in the Senate. 
 
 “Today, Senate Democrats continued their tradition of neglecting moral responsibility and blocked legislation that would put an end to abortions of babies older than five months and provide protections for unborn children capable of feeling pain,” Cruz said in a statement at the time. “I am extremely disappointed with today’s vote.” 
 
 Did O’Rourke vote for a $10/barrel tax on every barrel of oil in Texas? 
 
 The Cruz campaign has been hitting this issue hard, purchasing billboard advertisements in Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas that read, “Beto O’Rourke wants you to pay 24 more cents per gallon of gas.” 
 
 This claim goes back to the days of President Barack Obama, who proposed a $10 tax on every barrel of oil, paid for by energy companies, to fund rail and highway projects. When House Republicans in 2016 introduced a resolution opposing the proposal, O'Rourke voted against it. O’Rourke has since defended his vote, saying that he wants to find more ways to fund national infrastructure projects. 
 
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 Cruz said that “a robust energy sector is good for all of Texas” and accused O’Rourke of voting for aggressive regulations of fracking and natural gas exports. 
 
 Did O’Rourke vote against a Hurricane Harvey relief bill? 
 
 Cruz this evening claimed that he “led the charge to pass three Harvey-related disaster relief bills” and attacked O’Rourke for voting against a measure that would’ve helped lower the taxes of victims impacted by the storm. 
 
 While it’s true the congressman was a “no” vote on the bill, O’Rourke has long insisted there’s more to the story. The bill, which was later signed into law, allowed Harvey victims to receive tax deductions on personal losses from the storm and reduced penalties for withdrawing funds from retirement accounts to cover storm-related costs. 
 
 But the bill touched on more than just Harvey relief. It also included a line that allowed for the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration and other small health care programs. O’Rourke said that he voted against the measure since it didn't include funding reauthorization for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Community Health Centers (CHC), which were both set to expire within days of the vote. 
 
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 To be sure, this isn’t the first time this vote has been used as a line of attack by Cruz’s camp. The incumbent senator issued a 30-second online ad in late August titled “Completely Ridiculous” knocking the representative for voting against “Hurricane Harvey tax relief.” 
 
 “Do you regret your vote?” moderator Sarah Forgany of KENS 5 asked O’Rourke Tuesday. 
 
 “I don’t,” he responded. 
 
 Cruz makes claims about O’Rourke’s PAC support 
 
 After O’Rourke accused Cruz of casting votes under the influence of PAC donations, Cruz shot back that a PAC, JStreetPAC, has “raised over $160,000” for O’Rourke and that O’Rourke “has a super PAC based up in Dallas that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, is spending them on ads attacking me and my family.” 
 
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 “When he says he doesn’t take PAC money, he just lets others do it for him,” Cruz said. 
 
 O’Rourke has held true to his promise not to accept PAC money. What Cruz was apparently referring to with JStreetPAC is the act of bundling, in which a PAC collects individual contributions and gives them to a candidate en masse. This year, JStreetPAC has bundled roughly $187,000 in donations for O’Rourke, according to Federal Election Commission records. 
 
 As for the super PAC, Cruz was likely referring to Fire Ted Cruz PAC, which has an Austin address but is helmed by well-known Dallas attorney Marc Stanley. The group has raised approximately $278,000, FEC records show, and it has spent some on anti-Cruz ads directed by Austin filmmaker Richard Linklater. One of the spots rehashes some of Donald Trump’s attacks on Cruz’s family during the 2016 presidential race while mocking Cruz’s current “Tough as Texas” campaign slogan. 
 
 Cruz also has super PACs supporting him in the race, and they have raised and spent much more than Fire Ted Cruz PAC has. But in any case, it is worth noting neither candidate has formal control over the activities of such groups, which can raise unlimited amounts of money to influence an election as long as they do not coordinate with campaigns. 
 
 How many votes did Cruz miss? 
 
 O’Rourke heavily criticized Cruz’s attendance record in Washington, accusing the senator of missing a quarter of the votes in the U.S. Senate in 2015 and half of the votes in 2016. 
 
 “You tell me, who can miss half the days at work and then be rehired for the same job going forward?” O’Rourke said. “That’s not what Texans want.” 
 
 Our fact check of the candidates’ attendance records finds Cruz has had one of the highest rates of missed votes in the Senate largely because of his 14-month campaign for president in 2015 and 2016. During his first term, he missed nearly 14 percent of roll call votes, which is significantly higher than the 1.5 percent lifetime missed votes median in the Senate. 
 
 “Congressman O’Rourke doesn’t seem to understand that representing Texas is not doing a photo-op in each county in Texas with reporters in tow,” Cruz fired back at O’Rourke. “It’s actually standing up and fighting for the people of Texas.” 
 
 It’s not uncommon for candidates seeking higher office to miss many votes, and our fact check finds that both candidates missed around 10 percent of votes in 2018. 
 
 Patrick Svitek contributed to this report. ||||| Tweet with a location 
 
 You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| Mr. Cruz said he had supported legislation to do more to protect American voting, but also focused on “political bias of big tech, of Facebook and Google” and said he was concerned that social media was not protecting free political speech on social media. 
 
 Mr. O’Rourke also criticized Mr. Cruz for opposing the Violence Against Women Act, while the senator presented himself as a strong supporter of the #MeToo movement and victims of sexual assault and misconduct. 
 
 “The #MeToo movement has done an incredible amount of good for our country,” Mr. Cruz said. “I believe everyone, women and men, girls and boys, need to be protected.” As the father of two girls, and the son and husband of women who had careers, he noted that he helped lead a Senate effort to stop secret settlements by members of Congress over sexual harassment complaints. 
 
 Mr. Cruz and Mr. O’Rourke were facing off for the second and perhaps final time, as Mr. Cruz seeks to widen his lead in the polls and Mr. O’Rourke tries to restore dimming Democratic hopes that he can unseat Mr. Cruz and pull off the biggest upset in modern Texas political history. 
 
 The battle between Mr. Cruz and Mr. O’Rourke has captivated and polarized Texas and drawn enormous interest nationwide, with the candidates raising far more money than those in typical Senate races. Mr. O’Rourke raised a record-breaking $38.1 million in the last three months alone, the most of any Senate candidate ever. And he has enjoyed a kind of pop-culture celebrity status, getting a shout-out from the young El Paso soul singer Khalid at the American Music Awards and jamming on stage with Willie Nelson. On Thursday, he will appear in a live town-hall event on CNN in the border city of McAllen. 
 
 Mr. O’Rourke’s CNN town hall has become a contested issue. The Cruz campaign asked CNN to change the format of the event into a town-hall debate and to allow the two candidates to hold their third debate there. In a letter to CNN, Jeff Roe, Mr. Cruz’s campaign manager, wrote that if they were going to spend an hour “on national cable news discussing and debating the issues important to Texas voters, we believe it should be on a stage with our opponent.” ||||| SAN ANTONIO — Sen. Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzObama praises Beto O'Rourke: 'Impressive young man' Dem bundler: Donors waiting on 2020 commitments until Beto O'Rourke makes decision The Hill's Morning Report — GOP victorious in Florida while Dems say `Sunbelt strategy’ looks bright for 2020 MORE (R-Texas) and Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) clashed in a heated second debate on a cold and bitter night in San Antonio, less than three weeks out from the midterm elections. 
 
 O’Rourke went on the attack right at the start of the debate, framing Cruz as “dishonest” and someone who abandoned Texas to run for president. But Cruz continued to aggressively go after the Democratic congressman’s record, which he says doesn’t line up with deep-red Texas. 
 
 The contentious showdown again highlighted the starkest differences between the candidates, particularly on immigration and health care. 
 
 Here are the five takeaways from the fiery — and likely final — Senate debate in the Lone Star State. 
 
 O’Rourke goes on offense 
 
 O’Rourke didn’t pull any punches in this debate, especially with polls consistently showing him trailing Cruz. 
 
 Unlike in the first debate, the Democratic congressman came out swinging from the beginning and repeatedly hammered Cruz throughout the hourlong debate. 
 
 Right out the gate, O’Rourke sought to highlight the major differences between them, starting with election security. O’Rourke accused Cruz of being incapable of standing up to the president on both this issue and also on tariffs. 
 
 “He voted against safeguarding the integrity of our ballot box,” O’Rourke said. “Our junior senator won’t stand up to President Trump Donald John TrumpTrump: WHCA picking non-comedian for headliner a 'good first step' Five takeaways from Mississippi's Senate debate Watergate’s John Dean: Nixon would tell Trump 'he's going too far' MORE.” 
 
 The attacks only got more heated throughout the night. O’Rourke brought back President Trump’s past pejorative nickname for Cruz from the 2016 Republican primary race, arguing that the GOP senator fits the name “Lyin’ Ted.” 
 
 "This is what you can expect over the course of debate," O'Rourke said. "Sen. Cruz isn’t going to be honest. He’s dishonest." 
 
 "That’s why [Trump's] nickname stuck — because it’s true." 
 
 But Cruz, a seasoned debater, countered each of O’Rourke’s attacks. In a familiar line of attack, Cruz continued to cast the Democrat’s voting record in Congress as “out of step in Texas.” 
 
 The GOP senator even noted the change in tone since their last debate in Dallas. 
 
 "Well it’s clear Congressman O'Rourke's pollsters told him to come out on the attack," Cruz said. 
 
 Cruz on defense over GOP tax law 
 
 Republicans are hoping that the GOP’s tax law passed last year will be a boon for them in the midterms. But Cruz was left explaining his support for the GOP’s biggest legislative achievement since Trump took office. 
 
 Cruz trumpeted his support for the tax cuts, while talking about the need for paying down the deficit and debt. 
 
 He called the growing deficit and debt “immoral,” but argued that it wasn’t due to the tax cuts passed late last year. 
 
 But in a notable moment of the debate, one of the moderators interrupted Cruz’s answer to mention past comments he made while running for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016. 
 
 “Respectfully, Sen. Cruz, in Iowa, you talked about how bad the deficit is.” 
 
 When asked if the tax law increases the deficit and debt, Cruz responded, “No, it wouldn’t. That projection is wrong.” 
 
 Cruz continued that measures that spur economic growth — like the tax law — don’t contribute to that. He said that the government can fix the “out-of-control spending” in Congress by imposing things like congressional term limits and passing a balanced budget amendment. 
 
 For his part, O’Rourke decried that tax cuts as "disproportionately” benefiting corporations. 
 
 Cruz gets upper hand in health-care exchange 
 
 Health care has been a prominent issue this election cycle — and one that Democrats believe is a winning issue, especially when it comes to protections for those with pre-existing conditions. 
 
 But there was no mention of the popular ObamaCare provision in this debate. Instead, moderators focused more on “Medicare for all,” which gave Cruz an opening to tie O’Rourke to a democratic socialist. 
 
 Cruz accused the Democratic congressman of wanting “socialized medicine” and Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernard (Bernie) SandersOvernight Health Care: Drug industry nervous about Grassley | CDC warns public not to eat romaine lettuce | Sanders unveils new drug pricing bill Sanders and Khanna have a plan to lower your drug prices 2020 Democrats challenge Trump's use of troops at Mexico border MORE’s (I-Vt.) Medicare for all proposal. 
 
 “O’Rourke supports Bernie Sanders’s socialized medicine,” Cruz said, adding that it would “triple your taxes.” The GOP senator pointed to examples of other countries who use that system, arguing that it would lead to long wait times and that the costs would be “immense.” 
 
 But O’Rourke stood his ground for wanting affordable and quality universal health care, especially for working families. He said that there are different approaches to achieving that goal, noting Medicare for all, expanded Medicaid and “the ability for people to pay into Medicare.” 
 
 “All you hear from Sen. Cruz is what we should be afraid of,” O’Rourke said, pointing to Cruz previously shutting down the government “perhaps because too many people had health care.” 
 
 Immigration still the biggest wedge issue 
 
 Like the last debate, immigration continues to be the biggest separator between the two candidates running to be a senator of a border state. 
 
 Republicans running across the country have seized on this issue as a way to draw contrasts with their Democratic opponents. And in Texas, a Tuesday poll from CNN found that immigration is a top priority for voters in the Senate race. That same poll found Cruz leading O’Rourke by 7 points among likely voters. 
 
 Trump’s signature campaign promise of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border yet again highlighted the differences between them. 
 
 O'Rourke said building a border wall won’t resolve the country’s immigration issues. 
 
 "No wall is going to solve legitimate security issues, but smart policy will," he said, noting that he introduced a bill with Sen. John Cornyn John CornynDivisions in GOP may leave Trump priority in Senate limbo Senate barrels toward showdown over Trump's court picks Dem gains put Sunbelt in play for 2020 MORE (R-Texas) that would invest more money in ports of entry in the U.S. 
 
 Cruz said he's "led the fight to secure the border and building the wall." Cruz continued to make the case that O’Rourke’s liberal record is out of touch with what Texans want. 
 
 "Let me say there's no race in this country where there is a starker divide on immigration," Cruz said. 
 
 Candidates make their final pitch 
 
 In a bitter debate from start to finish, both candidates laid out distinct visions for why they should be elected in their closing statements. Those respective visions essentially boiled down to "hope and change" versus continued progress. 
 
 O’Rourke said the country and Texans need "inspiration" and hope when Americans and their government are more divided than ever. 
 
 "Whether we remain the inspiration of the world is an open question right now," O’Rourke said, saying he’s been inspired to "transcend the obstacles" and fight for so-called Dreamers and universal health care. 
 
 Meanwhile, Cruz made the case for familiarity, arguing that electing O’Rourke would disrupt the economic growth in Texas that’s been made over his past six years in office. 
 
 "This is a choice about keeping the boom going," Cruz said. "We have the lowest Hispanic unemployment, the lowest African-American unemployment. Why would we want to screw that up?" 
 
 While there was visible tension, both candidates bemoaned the hyperpartisanship gripping the country. And there was a moment of emotion — and agreement — when it came to parenting while campaigning. 
 
 Cruz gave an emotional answer about the difficulty of being away from his children. O’Rourke, who is also the father of young children, said Cruz’s answer resonated with him. 
 
 Jessie Hellmann and Tess Bonn contributed.
– Beto O'Rourke was relatively reserved in his first debate against Sen. Ted Cruz last month, the New York Times notes. In Tuesday night's debate in San Antonio, however: The congressman was "sharper and edgier," and the Hill notes that "seasoned debater" Cruz, whose Texas Senate seat is at stake, gave it right back. Some of the barbs that flew back and forth: On the possibility of impeaching President Trump if Democrats take the Senate: Cruz noted it would be "two years of a partisan circus." O'Rourke's response: "It's really interesting to hear you talk about a partisan circus, after your last six years in the US Senate." O'Rourke on Cruz's claim he has a "special relationship" with Trump: "Where is the result of that? You are all talk and no action." Cruz on O'Rourke: "Have you noticed in this debate he doesn't talk about what he has accomplished in Congress? Because he has scored political points rather than accomplishing victories for the people of Texas." During a segment on climate change and oil taxes: "Senator Cruz is not going to be honest with you," O'Rourke said. "He's dishonest, and it's why the president called him Lyin' Ted, and it's why the nickname stuck—because it's true." Cruz's retort: "It's clear Congressman O'Rourke's pollsters have told him to come out on the attack." Cruz during a discussion on civility in politics, addressing one of the moderators: "There is an anger, there is a rage on the far left," then becoming impatient when local reporter Jason Whitely tried to interject: "Don't interrupt me, Jason." A Texas Tribune fact-check of the debate tries to suss out whose insults hold water. (O'Rourke has raised a stunning amount of money, but it may not matter.)