Ted Cruz conveniently campaigns where a private plane can drop him off

Senator Ted Cruz has planned a series of campaign stops within minutes of local airports. The stops indicate he will be simply flying into events on a private airplane, while his opponent has been driving from town to town.

Cruz is facing a stronger than expected challenge from his Democratic opponent.

Indivisible Austin took note of twelve scheduled stops on Cruz’s official campaign schedule and mapped out the locations. What they uncovered is that not a single rally location is more than 20 minutes away from an airport.

The image of Cruz — who has often tried to cultivate an image as a grassroots, middle class candidate — flying in from one stop to the next is a stark contrast to his Democratic opponent.

Beto O’Rourke has already completed one land-based tour of Texas during his campaign to unseat Cruz, in a series of events labeled “Town Hauling Across Texas.”

O’Rourke is currently on a similar campaign swing, and as before is live-streaming video from the road of his journey.

Cruz is probably unconcerned with taking a more elitist approach to campaigning, having recently voted to pass the Trump tax plan, which rewards mega-corporations at the expense of middle class citizens.

But support for the tax plan is proving to be a burden for Republicans. The party believed it could tout the legislation in a district that heavily backed Trump in Pennsylvania, only to see a Democrat win.

Cruz is favored in his race, but is behind O’Rourke in fundraising. Meanwhile, polls show there is an opening for the Democrat to surprise.

After losing to Trump in the presidential primary, Cruz has jumped all-in with his agenda, even as Trump’s approval rating has slipped in Texas. In a state Trump won by 9 points — with 52 percent of the vote — he is now at 39 percent approval.

Cruz is flying in while his opponent hits the pavement, embracing an unpopular tax law, and supporting Trump while Texas rejects him. Like Trump, Cruz is showing just how out of touch with Texans he really is.