HOUSTON (August 1, 2012)—Former solicitor general Ted Cruz said Wednesday the tea party supporters who helped him pull off an upset in the Republican U.S. Senate primary runoff are "everyday Texans" who want common sense answers to problems plaguing the country.

Cruz addressed reporters in Houston on Wednesday, a day after beating Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in the GOP runoff.

He said all Texans, including those backing the tea party, want the federal government to live within its means and not saddle "our kids and grandkids with a crushing debt."

He said the tea party is bringing the Republican party back to the policies "we should have been defending in the first place."

Cruz figures to be an overwhelming favorite in November against Democrat Paul Sadler.