Cruz Vs. Allred: Key Takeaways From Their Heated Senate Debate

On Tuesday, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Rep. Colin Allred faced off in their only debate before Election Day. Both candidates participated in a contentious exchange on key issues like immigration, abortion, and leadership during crises. These are our key takeaways from the debate.

Both candidates try to paint themselves as centrists

In their campaigns, both Allred and Cruz have tried to paint themselves as moderates. Allred, who is outperforming Vice President Kamala Harris in the state, has tried to appeal to Republicans, as he would need their support to defeat Cruz. He framed the incumbent senator as someone disconnected from Texans’ needs, referencing Cruz’s 2021 Cancun trip during Texas’s power outages.

“We’re all Americans; we’re all Texans. We need a leader who will bring us together around our shared values. That’s what I’ve tried to do in my six years. That’s the exact opposite of what Sen. Cruz has done — whatever he says tonight,” Allred said.

On the other hand, Cruz knows that he is losing his appeal to Texans, as he barely survived his last election bid. While the state remains Republican, he is underperforming Donald Trump, and has tried to appeal to Democrats. In addition, he said Allred was a radical leftist.

“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.

Cruz evades abortion topic

Abortion became a focal point of the debate, with Cruz dodging direct answers of whether he would support some exceptions to the procedure. He framed the issue as a states’ rights matter, while Allred took a more personal approach.

 “You don’t know what they’re going to say, but I can’t imagine that the doctor comes in and says, ‘So there’s a problem with the baby — or a problem with Allie — but there’s nothing I can do, because Ted Cruz thinks he knows better.’” 

“I don’t serve in the state Legislature. I’m not the governor,” Cruz said. “He knows that, but he’s trying to deceive everybody.” However, Cruz supported the overturning of Roe v Wade.

Both candidates blame each other for migration

Cruz accused Allred of being part of a conspiracy to open the border and import millions of immigrants, however, he did not offer probes. On the other hand, Allred said Cruz was not tough enough on the issue.

“Sen. Cruz treats our border communities like he’s going on some kind of a safari. He comes down, he puts on his outdoor clothes, he tries to look tough,” he said, adding that Cruz then  “goes back to Washington and does nothing to help.”

Allred also dodged questions of whether he supported or not the building of a border wall.

Overall, both candidates dodged some important questions and tried to attack their opponent. However, it seems that Allred managed to land more hits on Cruz. A clip of Allred saying Cruz was “hiding in a supply closet” during the deadly Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol managed to win millions of views and thousands of likes, more than any of the clips published by Cruz.

The Senate race has become tighter than Cruz expected, and the senator has called for more support from voters and the national GOP. Recently, an internal Republican poll warned that Cruz was only one point ahead of Allred, sounding the alarms in Texas.

This debate could give Allred a small boost, however, most polls still give Cruz the lead.