Ted Cruz wins Texas Senate reelection fight

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) secured a third term in the upper chamber on Tuesday by knocking off Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) in one of the most expensive races on the 2024 map, depriving Democrats of their best pickup opportunity in the process, according to a projection from Decision Desk HQ.

For the second cycle in a row, Cruz came under threat from Democrats who were trying to topple one of the major conservative figures in the GOP. Much of that came in the form of financial support for Allred, a former NFL player who flipped a GOP-held congressional district in 2018, as Cruz remains one of the foremost boogeymen to progressives.

The Dallas-based Allred raked in nearly $60 million through the end of September, giving him a significant financial advantage over the incumbent senator in one of the most expensive states to advertise in.

But in the end, it wasn’t enough as Texas kept up its reputation as a red state despite attempts by Democrats over the past decade to peel off support to eventually put it in their column and shake up the electoral map in the process. Cruz had won his 2018 race against then-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) by 2.5 percentage points.

The battle between the two became personal and nasty at times, with Allred heavily criticizing Cruz’s role in trying to overturn the 2020 election for former President Trump and the senator’s ill-fated trip to Cancun in 2021 as much of the state was being pounded by a winter storm.

He also leaned into the narrative around Cruz as a partisan troublemaker, headlined by his opposition to the bipartisan border package that died a quick death earlier this year.

“He’s never there for us when we need him,” Allred said during their lone debate in October. “When the lights went out in the energy capital of the world, he went to Cancun. When a mob was storming the Capitol, he was hiding in a supply closet. And when the toughest border security bill in a generation came up in the United States Senate, he took it down.”

The sitting congressman also highlighted Cruz’s anti-abortion stance as he tried to rally support from independents and GOP-leaning women, questioning the sitting senator’s anti-abortion bona fides in the process.

“You’re not pro-life,” Allred said during the debate. “It’s not pro-life to deny women care so long that they can’t have children anymore. It’s not pro-life to force a victim of rape to carry their rapist’s baby.”

“Understand that when Ted Cruz says he’s pro-life, he doesn’t mean yours,” he added.

The Cruz campaign said he wanted “to keep Texas, Texas,” while also trying to pitch his increasing bipartisan bona fides in recent years. He has been one of the leading GOP members in support of in vitro fertilization protections.

He also tried to turn the screws on his Democratic opponent by trying to paint him as a steadfast liberal and backer of the likes of President Biden, Vice President Harris and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) instead of the moderate Allred tried to sell himself as.

“Congressman Allred wants to destroy what we’ve got in Texas, because he shares Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris’s values — and I will fight to keep Texas Texas,” Cruz said to close the debate.

The race ended up getting dicey in the final weeks for the conservative lawmaker. The Hill and Emerson College’s poll taken in late October showed Cruz leading by a single percentage point.

That came after the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, facing the prospect of losing the Montana Senate race, decided to put millions of dollars into Texas and Florida in late September to boost Allred and former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Fla.).

Harris also held a campaign rally in Houston on Oct. 25, which featured Beyoncé. That marked the latest rally in the Lone Star State during a general election since former President George W. Bush ended his 2004 campaign in Dallas — his hometown.

However, the loss marks a big defeat for Democrats as the state was by far the best pickup chance the party had on a map that featured limited opportunities.

The win also puts Cruz in a key position heading into the 119th Congress, as he is in line to chair the Senate Commerce Committee if Republicans are able to retake the majority.

The idea of him potentially running the panel came up in some Democratic campaigns, especially in the Maryland Senate race, as they sought to convince voters to oppose a Republican majority.