Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz told fellow members of his party Saturday that he firmly believes the GOP will win control of the Senate in the midterm elections this fall.
"We are winning these fights over and over and over again," Cruz said during his speech on the last day of the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans. "I am convinced we are going to retake the United States Senate in 2014."
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He also emphasized his belief that last fall's 16-day government shutdown united people in the understanding that Obamacare was sold "under false pretenses."
"What we did collectively last summer and last fall is we elevated the national debate all over this country about the disaster that is Obamacare," Cruz said during his nearly 30-minute speech. The federal standoff, which came in the wake of Cruz's filibuster of the new health care law, cost the U.S. economy $24 billion.
Former GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who is considering another bid for the White House, offered his advice to the GOP ahead of the midterms.
"We have a message that is stuck in what the party used to be … the party of business," Santorum said Saturday. "Our message has to be a message of growth. But it can't just be pro-growth, it has to be pro-growth and pro-worker."
Santorum has made similar comments in recent weeks while promoting his new book, "Blue Collar Conservatives: Recommitting to an America That Works."