Christian TV producer Bruce Jacobson announces run against Sen. Ted Cruz

Bruce Jacobson, a Christian TV executive from North Richland Hills, announced Thursday that he is challenging Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in 2018.

In a video, Jacobson said he's "ready to serve my state with humility" — and took some thinly veiled shots at Cruz, who was first elected to the Senate in 2012 and unsuccessfully ran for president in 2016.

“Most politicians today are far more interested in serving themselves and their own agendas rather than serving the people who elected them," Jacobson said. "Blinded by their own political ambition, nothing ever gets done, and we have political gridlock. Now, with a Republican in the White House and a Republican majority in Congress, it makes no sense that we can’t move forward a contrastive agenda. Most of this gridlock comes from the obstructionists in the Senate."

Jacobson faces a steep climb against Cruz, who remains popular with his base and has over $6 million in the bank for his re-election bid. Still, Jacobson is arguably the most prominent name to emerge as a Cruz primary challenger. Houston energy lawyer Stefano de Stefano and Dan McQueen, who briefly served as Corpus Christi mayor in 2016 and 2017, are also trying to unseat Cruz in the primary. Cruz faces a Democratic challenge from U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of El Paso.

Jacobson, who had been exploring a Cruz challenge for months, produces "Life Today," a show hosted by televangelist James Robison, who has served as a spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump.  He was a White House staffer under President Ronald Reagan and a regional appointee under President George H.W. Bush.