EGN NEWS DESK
DALLAS — Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Rep. Colin Allred met for his or her solely debate Tuesday night time, buying and selling assaults over abortion and immigration in a carefully watched race that would assist decide which party wins management of the U.S. Senate.
Nationally, Democrats view Texas as one in every of their few potential pickup probabilities within the Senate this yr, whereas Cruz has urged Republicans to take Texas significantly amid indicators that the previous 2016 presidential contender is in one other aggressive race to maintain his seat.
From begin to end within the hourlong debate, Cruz sought to hyperlink Allred to Vice President Kamala Harris at almost each alternative and painted the three-term Dallas congressman as out of step in a state the place voters haven’t elected a Democrat to a statewide workplace in 30 years.
Allred, who would turn into Texas’ first Black senator if elected, hammered Cruz over the state’s abortion ban that is without doubt one of the most restrictive within the nation and doesn’t enable exceptions in instances of rape or incest. The problem is central to Allred’s underdog marketing campaign and his supporters embody Texas ladies who had severe being pregnant issues after the state’s ban took impact.
Pressed on whether or not he helps Texas’ legislation, Cruz stated the specifics of abortion legislation have been and must be determined by the Texas Legislature.
“I don’t serve within the state Legislature. I’m not the governor,” he stated.
Cruz later blasted Allred over his assist of transgender rights and immigration polices of President Joe Biden and Harris, accusing him of shifting his views on border safety from the positions he took when he was first elected to Congress in 2018.
“What I at all times stated is that we’ve got to ensure that as we’re speaking about border safety, that we don’t fall into demonizing,” Allred stated.
Allred accused the two-term U.S. senator of mischaracterizing his report and repeatedly jabbed Cruz for his household trip to Mexico throughout a lethal winter storm in 2021 that crippled the state’s energy grid.
The final time Cruz was on the poll in 2018, he solely narrowly gained reelection over challenger Beto O’Rourke.
The debate provided Allred, a former NFL linebacker, an opportunity to spice up his identify identification to a broad Texas viewers. Allred has made defending abortion rights a centerpiece of his marketing campaign and has been sharply vital of the state’s abortion ban. The problem has been a profitable one for Democrats, even in crimson states like Kentucky and Kansas, ever for the reason that U.S. Supreme Court’s choice in 2022 to strip away constitutional protections for abortion.
Cruz, who quick made a reputation for himself within the Senate as an uncompromising conservative, has refashioned his marketing campaign to concentrate on his legislative report.
Allred has in the meantime sought to flash average credentials and has the endorsement of former Republican U.S. Reps. Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney.
The two candidates alone have raised near $100 million, based on the newest reviews from the Federal Election Commission. Tens of tens of millions extra {dollars} have been spent by exterior teams, making it one of the crucial costly races within the nation.
Despite Texas’ fame as a deep-red state and the Democrats’ 30-year statewide drought, the party has grown more and more optimistic in recent times that they will win right here.
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Since former President Barack Obama misplaced Texas by greater than 15 proportion factors in 2012, the margins have steadily declined. Former President Donald Trump gained by 9 proportion factors in 2016, and 4 years later, gained by lower than 6. That was the narrowest victory for a Republican presidential candidate in Texas since 1996.
“Texas is a crimson state,” stated Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University in Houston. “But it’s not a ruby-red state.”
