Ted Cruz and Colin Allred make spirited final pitches to Texas voters in the Senate race

JOURDANTON, Texas – Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic U.S. Rep. Colin Allred make their final pitches to Texas voters in a frenzied tour of the state at the end of one of the country’s most expensive elections. and watched the Senate races closely.

Cruzwhich then finds itself in a new competitive match narrowly won a second term in 2018leaned on conservative promises for stricter border measures and attacks on policies that support transgender people, including at a bus tour rally outside San Antonio on Tuesday.

Allred, who would become Texas’ first black senator, spent a day traversing Houston, the state’s largest city and a crucial Democratic stronghold for the underdog congressman, who will need a major showing by loyal Democrats to win the to dethrone the sitting president. At a rally at Texas Southern University, a historically black university, the three-term congressman emphasized his support for abortion rights and accused Cruz of limiting women’s access to reproductive health care.

Statewide races in Texas have been out of reach for Democrats for decades, but recent signs that the race may be tightening have some thinking that 2024 could finally be the year. It’s an ambitious goal, but one of the few opportunities for Democrats in a year in which they are defending twice as many Senate seats nationally as Republicans.

A surprise victory in Texas would dramatically improve their chances of retaining their narrow majority in the Senate.

Both candidates combined have raised more than $160 million in the race.

Last week, the Democrats who supported Allred announced this a $5 million ad campaign about reproductive freedom for women.

During one of his stops in Houston, Allred asked voters to turn the page on divisive politics and look at leaders who can make a difference.

“I don’t spend my time throwing bombs,” he said. “I work hard not because bipartisanship is the end goal, because that’s how you get things done.”

About 250 miles (402 kilometers) west, at a rally in the rural South Texas town of Jourdanton, Cruz cast himself as the reasonable candidate.

“This is no longer a battle between Republicans and Democrats,” he said. “This is a battle between sanity and madness.”

Dust swirled in and around a warehouse in Jourdanton on a warm October afternoon as Cruz supporters donned “Make America Great Again” hats and waved signs with Cruz’s slogan “Keep Texas, Texas.” Cruz stood in the bed of a pickup truck and gave a nearly 40-minute speech in which he described the race as a battle between tradition and change.

The battle for the Senate has drawn the most attention and money in Texas, as Allred, a three-term congressman from Dallas, seeks to unseat Cruz and do what no Democrat has done in three decades: win elections in the second-most populated region of the country. stands. Cruz has tried to pair Allred with Vice President Kamala Harris on immigration, LGBTQ+ issues and the economy.

In a state with some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, Cruz has largely avoided the topic.

Cruz narrowly defeated Beto O’Rourke in his last re-election campaign in 2018, and Democrats view the Senate race as an opportunity to capitalize on Texas’ changing demographics and a relatively unpopular incumbent president.

Sarah Brietzke, a retired teacher from nearby La Vernia, said she doesn’t expect Cruz to lose. “I’d be surprised,” she said.

“I have nothing against the guy,” Scott Smith said of Allred. Still, Smith said he believes Cruz has stronger economic and immigration policies.

Allred has tried to win over moderate voters by running a lower-profile campaign focused on reproductive care, a winning issue for Democrats where The 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down federal protections against abortion remains unpopular with most Americans.

On Tuesday night, Allred repeatedly attacked Cruz in Houston his trip to Mexico in 2021 during a deadly winter storm that left millions without power. The swing through Texas’ largest city came just days after Allred joined Harris and Beyoncé during a meeting Friday eveningthe vice president’s first and only stop in Texas. For most of his race, the former NFL linebacker and civil rights attorney has kept Harris at arm’s length, saying he was focused on his own campaign.

He spoke to a half-full room of about 300 people, where he worked to shore up support among black voters, a historically strong voting bloc for Democrats. Allred has not emphasized large rallies in his campaign, frustrating some Democrats early in his race, though he has increased his travel down the road.

“Everything is bigger in Texas, except our senator. He’s too small for our state. His vision for us is too small,” said Allred.

Allred was joined at the rally Tuesday by Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, who told the crowd that Allred would continue to fight for student debt relief and for women’s reproductive rights. Allred said he would be a senator for all Texans and continue his efforts to work with Republicans.

Kamerin Joseph, 27, said he is voting for Allred because of the congressman’s support for women’s reproductive rights.

“That’s a big one for me,” he said. “I mean, you hear stories about women having to watch their children die and women having to go through complications themselves.”

Joseph, who works for Protest, Organize, Participate, a Houston-based nonprofit that engages youth in politics, said that after knocking on doors and talking to people, he thinks many are aware of the race in the Senate and the potential for change.

“I really feel like we’re going to turn Texas blue this year. I really feel that,” Joseph said. “I feel like the average, everyday Texan wants Colin Allred. You know, they’re ready for Cruz to go.”

___

Lozano reported from Houston. ___

Lathan is a staff member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.