Democratic Rep. Colin Allred went toe-to-toe with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) Tuesday night in the only debate for the Texas Senate race.
The debate, at times tense and full of memorable one-liners, comes as Democrats target Cruz’s seat in an effort to keep control of the upper chamber. The Democratic Senate campaign arm recently announced it would include Texas in a “multimillion-dollar” push to fund television ads across the state.
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The Texas senator presented himself as a true conservative who will fight to keep “Texas Texas,” while Allred sold himself as the “most bipartisan Texan in Congress” and repeatedly brought up Cruz’s trip to Mexico during a 2021 winter storm in Texas.
Senate Democrats hold a 51-seat advantage, but the map will become difficult with the retirement of Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV). Originally, Democrats planned to defend eight Democratic-held seats seen as the most competitive. An eight-for-eight performance would still leave the Senate deadlocked at a 50-50 majority, which is why Democrats see more opportunity in targeting Cruz’s seat.
According to an average of polling, Cruz is up by four points. Democrats still face an uphill battle in unseating Cruz. The last time the Texas senator was up for election in 2018, he won the seat within 2.6 percentage points against former Rep. Beto O’Rourke.
Debate moderators asked Cruz multiple times if could support abortion exceptions for rape and incest, pointing out that the current Texas law prohibits all abortion, except to save the life of the mother. The Texas senator avoided answering the question three separate times, instead saying he supports leaving the issue to the state.
“People are genuinely and deeply pro-life. People are genuinely and deeply pro-choice, and there are all sorts of positions in between. I agree with the United States Supreme Court that under our constitution, the way we resolve questions like that, questions on which we have real and genuine disagreements is at the ballot box,” Cruz said.
Cruz went on to say that abortion laws should be decided by the state legislature, not the U.S. Senate.
“That’s a decision that should be left to the state legislature; Colin Allred ran all kinds of ads saying that I made this decision, I don’t serve in the state legislature, I’m not the governor, that folks that make the laws here are the state legislature and the governor. He knows that, but he’s trying to deceive you.”
After a third time in which moderators asked if Cruz supported or opposed exceptions to the abortion law, the Texas senator asked: “Why do you keep asking me that? But yet, hold on a second, I’ve asked congressman Allred twice about his voting record.”
Allred noted women are fleeing the state to get abortions, mentioning Kate Cox, who was denied emergency abortion care by the Texas Supreme Court and has been the face of the Democrat’s abortion rights battle.
“You should look into the camera and speak to Kate Cox, who is watching right now, and explain to her why you said this law that you said is perfectly reasonable, why she was forced to leave her two children behind, why she was forced to flee our state to get the care she needed,” Allred said. “This is not freedom; I trust Texas women to make their own healthcare decisions.”
Moderators asked Allred to explain his changing rhetoric on the border wall, pointing out in 2018 that he had called former President Donald Trump’s proposal to expand the border wall “racist,” but then supported a plan to expand the border wall. Allred avoided answering the question two separate times.
Allred first pointed to his ties to the border city of Brownsville, where his mother is from and his grandfather worked as a U.S. Customs officer. He then slammed Cruz for doing “nothing to help” while claiming the Texas senator was using the situation for publicity.
“Sen. Cruz treats our border communities like he’s going on some sort of safari. He comes down, puts on his outdoor clothes, and tries to look tough, then goes back to Washington and does nothing to help,” Allred said.
Allred went on to say he believes in “physical barriers as part of a comprehensive strategy,” latching onto a strategy Vice President Kamala Harris has embraced, campaigning on the bipartisan border legislation that failed the Senate and blamed Trump for tanking the deal to avoid a solution before Election Day.
“When the toughest border security bill in a generation came up the United States Senate – $20 billion for border security, he said ‘we don’t need a border bill,’ that’s what he said.”
Cruz attempted to tie Allred to Harris, pointing to a vote he took against House Republicans’ wide-ranging border crackdown last year; the bill passed with no Democratic votes after they criticized it for focusing solely on tougher enforcement efforts.
“Every single time there’s a serious measure in the House to secure the border, Colin Allred votes no. Look it’s a pattern we’ve seen actually at the presidential level, because it’s what Kamala Harris does as well,” Cruz said.
“Understand at home, Colin Allred is Kamala Harris. Their records are the same, I’ve served with both of them. They’ve voted in favor of open borders over and over again,” he added.
Transgender athletes playing in women’s sports have become a flashpoint in the competitive Senate race. Allred responded to a recent ad blitz by Cruz attacking his votes on LGBTQ legislation, claiming the Texas senator misrepresented his record in an ad of his own.
Cruz hit Allred for cosponsoring the Equality Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Cruz and other Republicans claimed the proposal would dismantle sex-specific sports facilities and other “female-only spaces,” claiming Allred has backed measures that could lead to boys playing in girls’ sports.
“Congressman Allred was an NFL linebacker. It is not fair for a man to compete against women,” Cruz said.
“You don’t have to be a former NFL linebacker to recognize a Hail Mary when you see one,” Allred said of Cruz blanketing the airwaves with ads saying he supports men in women’s sports. “I don’t support boys playing girls’ sports.”
Allred went on to call it “laughable” for Cruz to present himself as “the protector of women and girls.”
Moderators asked Allred how he’d hold Hamas accountable for the Oct. 7 attacks, after he said in an interview that Israel’s military operations in Gaza cannot achieve any further practical goal and that the U.S. should consider withholding some aid to pressure Israel to finalize a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Allred reiterated his view that Israel has the right to defend itself.
“Folks on both sides of the fence deserve to have a future, one that’s free of the cycle of violence. It’s time for us to reach a negotiated settlement, to bring the hostages home, to also bring home the remains of those who have died in captivity. Hamas must be held accountable,” Allred said, mentioning he voted for a foreign aid package that provided aid to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan that Cruz voted against.
“I voted for it. Senator [John] Cornyn voted for it. Ted Cruz, vote against it. You can’t say that you are for supporting Israel and the right to defend themselves, and you vote against that critical funding,” Allred said.
Cruz said he opposed the bill because he was concerned the funding would go to Gaza.
The Republican said he stands “unshakably with Israel” and mentioned he was there the day the Trump administration moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The Texas senator blasted Allred’s 2019 praise of a well-known imam with an extensive history of anti-Israel commentary.
“I don’t support those who engage in anti-semitic actions, and I will tell you the funders of the anti-semitic actions on college campuses are among congressman Allred’s biggest supporters,” Cruz said.
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Cruz also pointed to a Republican bill passed by the House that would force President Joe Biden to send weapons to Israel, in an effort to rebuke the president for delaying bomb shipments. Allred voted against the resolution, which passed largely along party lines.
“The House of Representatives took a bill to provide emergency weapons to Israel, and congressman Allred voted no,” Cruz said.