Ted Cruz and Colin Allred Debate in Only Texas Senate Race Encounter

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz (R) speaks during a U.S. Senate debate with Democratic Rep. Colin Allred (L) in Dallas, Texas on Oct. 15, 2024.

DALLAS — Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Rep. Colin Allred faced off in their only debate on Tuesday night, engaging in a back-and-forth over abortion and immigration in a closely watched race that could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.

Nationally, Democrats are optimistic about their chances of gaining seats in the Senate this year, while Cruz has urged Republicans to take the Texas race seriously, acknowledging the potential for a competitive contest to retain his seat.

Throughout the hour-long debate, Cruz repeatedly attempted to link Allred to Vice President Kamala Harris, portraying the three-term Dallas congressman as out of sync with the state’s electorate, given that Texas has not elected a Democrat to a statewide office in 30 years.

Allred, who would become Texas’ first Black senator if elected, criticized Cruz for the state’s abortion ban, one of the most restrictive in the nation, which does not allow exceptions for cases of rape or incest. This issue is central to Allred’s underdog campaign, and his supporters include Texas women who experienced serious pregnancy complications after the ban took effect.

When pressed about his support for Texas’ law, Cruz stated that the specifics of abortion law have been and should be determined by the Texas Legislature.

“I don’t serve in the state Legislature. I’m not the governor,” he said.

Later, Cruz criticized Allred’s support of transgender rights and President Joe Biden and Harris’ immigration policies, accusing him of shifting his stance on border security from the positions he held when first elected to Congress in 2018.

“What I always said is that we have to make sure that as we’re talking about border security, that we don’t fall into demonizing,” Allred said.

Allred accused the two-term U.S. senator of misrepresenting his record and repeatedly criticized Cruz for his absence during a deadly winter storm in 2021 that severely impacted the state’s power grid.

In the last election in 2018, Cruz narrowly defeated challenger Beto O’Rourke.

The debate provided Allred, a former NFL linebacker, an opportunity to raise his profile among a wider Texas audience. Allred has made protecting abortion rights a key focus of his campaign and has been outspoken in his opposition to the state’s abortion ban. This issue has resonated with voters, even in traditionally Republican states like Kentucky and Kansas, since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 to overturn constitutional protections for abortion.

Cruz, who quickly established himself as an uncompromising conservative in the Senate, has shifted his campaign to highlight his legislative record.

Meanwhile, Allred has sought to portray himself as a moderate and has secured endorsements from former Republican U.S. Reps. Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney.

The two candidates have raised close to $100 million combined, according to the most recent reports from the Federal Election Commission. Outside groups have contributed tens of millions of dollars, making it one of the most expensive races in the country.

Despite Texas’ reputation as a deeply Republican state and the Democrats’ 30-year statewide losing streak, the party has grown increasingly optimistic in recent years about their chances of winning here.

Since former President Barack Obama lost Texas by more than 15 percentage points in 2012, the margin of victory has steadily decreased. Former President Donald Trump won by 9 percentage points in 2016, and four years later, he won by less than 6. This was the narrowest victory for a Republican presidential candidate in Texas since 1996.

“Texas is a red state,” said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University in Houston. “But it’s not a ruby-red state.”