“Can you commit to serving out your term?” the Tribune’s Alana Rocha asked.

In response, Cruz began: “You know, as we stand here today, the Texas Board of Education is getting ready to vote on a proposal, a recommendation they received, to delete the word ‘heroic’ from the description of the defenders of the Alamo.”

His reply, which went on for two minutes but did not answer the question, concluded with, “We should be standing up for who we are as Texans and Americans.”

Asked the same question, U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke was unambiguous.