Colin Allred is courting black voters in the final days of his effort to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz

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In the final days of his tough bid for the U.S. Senate, Dallas Congressman Colin Allred is working overtime to shut down the backbone of the Democratic party: black voters.

In the past five days, Allred, who is running to dethrone the Republican incumbent, has won the election Ted Cruzcampaigned in Houston with Vice President Kamala Harris, the party’s presidential candidate; Beyoncé, the international pop star and Houston native; and Raphael Warnock, Georgia’s first black senator.

On Tuesday evening, Allred concluded a five-day tour of Houston with a meeting at Texas Southern University, a historically black university, where he was introduced by Warnock, who rose to fame as senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Dr. Martin Luther. The former congregation of King Jr.

Allred portrayed Cruz as an absentee senator who fled the state for Cancun as millions suffered through the 2021 winter shutdown. He criticized Cruz for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and for supporting policies that he said led to the near-total abortion ban in Texas.

Allred’s rally was also present Samantha Casianoa Texas woman who had to give birth to a baby, her doctors said she wouldn’t live more than a day because of a rare and fatal condition that prevents a child’s brain and skull from forming properly. Her daughter only lived for almost four hours after her birth.

“We have a senator who is too small for our state and we have a week to do something about it,” Allred told the crowd of a few hundred as speakers encouraged attendees to participate in block walks and phone banks. “We have to make sure we get out the vote.”

First, Georgia Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock takes the stage at Sawyer Auditorium on the campus of Texas Southern University to encourage people to get out and vote for Colin Allred. Latest: Allred speaks on the steps of Houston City Hall during the 10,000 Black Men rally on Sunday, October 27. Credit: Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribune

Allred is the underdog in the race against Cruz, a two-term Republican senator, in a state that hasn’t elected a statewide Democrat in 30 years. So his hopes of making the race competitive depend on catching up with the core Democratic base, a large portion of which are black voters.

Je’Von Tone, a 22-year-old student on campus, said he had been waiting for Allred to visit the university since the campaign began. He was excited that Allred brought Warnock and made an appeal to black and young voters.

“This race will be very, very exciting, especially for people in my age group, because we tend to have the lowest turnout,” Tone said. “So he’s going to do everything he can to make all the stops he can go to: schools, church, houses, block walks, phone banking and all the voting efforts he can make.”

During his time in Houston, Allred shared the stage with Harris and Beyoncé on Friday at a packed event with more than 20,000 people at Shell Energy Stadium; organized a 10,000 Black Men of Greater Houston Rally on Saturday; and chaired roundtable discussions with Black business leaders on Tuesday.

These recent events have projected a sense of urgency for an Allred campaign that flew under the radar and tried to appeal to moderate Republican and independent voters for much of the race. Now his campaign is running a full-court press to woo the Democratic base.

Candice Matthews, the chair of the Texas Coalition of Black Democrats, said Allred has been in touch with her group throughout the race and has solid name recognition among black voters. But the appearance at Texas Southern was a strategically smart move, she said.

“This is an excellent step in coming to an HBCU and showing the students that they matter,” she said.

She’Deja Martin, a 20-year-old student at the meeting, said she wanted to know more about Allred. She had planned to vote for him because she hated Cruz, but said she had just heard about the Democratic nominee this past week. She thought Allred’s visit to the school would help him among her fellow students.

“(But) it might have helped to come a little earlier because a lot of people have already voted,” she said.

In recent days, Allred has begun appealing more openly to black voters. Last week, in a fundraising text message to supporters, he noted that he would be the state’s first black senator, saying that “black Americans have long faced far too many obstacles, such as discrimination and the racist voter suppression laws that Texas Republicans like Ted Cruz have championed. .”

During the roundtable with Black business leaders, Allred was joined by former City Councilman Dwight Boykins and state Senator. Boris Miles of Houston, which represents an African-American majority district. Miles offered his help in the final days of the election.

“We’re just here in the fight,” he said. “We’re trying to get you over the line.”

Boykins said Allred visited Houston at a crucial point. Most voters are only now deciding who to vote for, and their choice in the Senate race will likely follow their choice in the presidential election. Allred will run TV ads and visit major cities, which will increase his brand awareness when voters make that choice.

“I think his name ID is strong enough in the commercials he does, credible enough, to get him where he wants to go,” Boykins said.

Also on Tuesday, Allred held a roundtable discussion with women affected by the state’s near-total abortion ban and their doctors, where he vowed to codify Roe v. Wade into law if elected.

Allred will head to the Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday, where he will seek support from another core base for his party: Hispanic voters.

Disclosure: Texas Southern University – Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs is a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.