Ted Cruz, the Republican candidate to replace the retiring Kay Bailey Hutchison in the U.S. Senate, is one of the shooting stars of the 2012 election season. Cruz came from obscurity less than a year ago to defeat the heavy favorite, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, in the Republican primary runoff in July. From there, he was thrust instantly into the national limelight as a featured speaker at the Republican National Convention in August. No great surprise: He is young, smart, telegenic and Hispanic.

We favored Dewhurst in the GOP primary, but the general election in November is a very different race. Cruz's Democratic opponent, Paul Sadler is a longtime state representative from East Texas who has been out of public life since 2003. He's the type of moderate Texas Democrat with pro-growth, business-friendly views whose forebears ran this state for generations, but whose party has not won a statewide election since 1994.

There's a lot we admire about Sadler, particularly his demonstrated ability to reach across the aisle and work productively with his political opponents for the good of Texas. But Sadler is practically poking at embers to keep his campaign from burning out altogether. Why? Because of a simple lack of interest and support from his own party. Sadler's candidacy is well-meaning, but an exercise in futility.

We endorse Ted Cruz to succeed Kay Bailey Hutchison and join Sen. John Cornyn in the U.S. Senate. We do so in the expectation that Cruz will be schooled by the examples of previous senators from Texas, beginning with Hutchison and continuing with Lloyd Bentsen and Lyndon B. Johnson. In Cornyn, he will have a someone to emulate at his side. We expect Cruz as the senator from the Lone Star State to spend his energies standing up for Texans of every background and economic station, representing their best interests from health care and education to energy, space and medicine.

Hutchison is the exemplary role model here. When Gov. Rick Perry's administration insisted, incorrectly, that Texas had used up its share of federal matching funds for Children's Health Insurance and could offer no more coverage for the state's economically disadvantaged kids, Hutchison stepped in with facts proving otherwise. Thousands more Texas children had access to health care. The retiring senator has been a tireless supporter of NASA and the Texas Medical Center. Cruz must do no less.

In a visit with the Chronicle editorial board Thursday, Hutchison expressed some views about Cruz and offered some advice for her likely successor. "The good news is that Ted Cruz is smart, very smart, and wants to be effective," Hutchison said.

She added a warning, noting that the people who supported Cruz in the Republican primary and runoff are from small states with different interests than a large state such as Texas. "He's going to have to choose early between being loyal to [Sen.] Jim DeMint [R-S.C.] and [Sen.] Mike Lee [R-Utah] and the needs of the people of Texas."

We fully concur.

We respect the GOP candidate's principled views on limited government. He's in sync with many folks in this very red state. But there are situations in which ideology must yield to the real-world interests of Texans and the state's economic needs. One such area is the fullest development of our energy resources. Bringing natural gas to its full market potential will require supporting the creation of infrastructure in the transportation area. We expect a U.S. senator from Texas to understand that priority and act accordingly.

Ted Cruz is thoughtful, energetic and dynamic. If elected, we urge him to use those qualities to further the interests of the state he is privileged to represent.