Republican Senator Ted Cruz sparred with Congressman Colin Allred over the border, abortion and transgender rights.
DALLAS—In the only debate between Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Rep. Colin Allred, the candidates sparred over abortion, illegal immigration, and transgender rights in a close race that could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.
Democrats have long dreamed of flipping Texas blue, although a Democrat has not been elected on the statewide level in 30 years.
Because of Democrat Beto O’Rourke’s surprisingly close race with Cruz in 2018, Democrats view Texas as a potential Senate pickup.
Cruz, a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump, is in a tight race with Allred, a former NFL linebacker on his third term in the House of Representatives.
With the race moving from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican” by the likes of political analysts at the Cook Political Report, Cruz has urged Republicans to take Allred’s challenge seriously.
ABC affiliate WFAA in Dallas, Texas, aired the Texas senate debate in a question-and-answer format, allowing each candidate to answer and respond.
Key takeaways include Allred’s support for transgender rights, his switch from supporting open borders to opposing them, and Cruz’s switch from being a vocal anti-abortion crusader to noncommittal.
The candidates also addressed their support for Israel against the terrorist group Hamas and accused each other of being threats to Democracy.
Border Policies
Cruz used every opportunity to link Allred to Vice President Kamala Harris, leftwing policies, and open borders.
Cruz, who has long-aligned his own border position with Trump, sought to position his opponent as flip-flopping on the issue along with Harris, who recently promised a border clampdown.
Cruz accused Allred of downplaying the border as an issue for Texans, and said Allred wanted to hide his record of voting against the border security measures as a Congressman.
Allred said he grew up in the border city of Brownsville as a child and understands the border and its people, who are trying to raise their families and get ahead.
“Senator Cruz treats our border communities like he’s going on some kind of a safari. He comes down; he puts on his outdoor clothes, and he tries to look tough. He goes back to Washington and does nothing to help,” Allred said.
Allred pointed to Cruz’s vote against the bipartisan border bill as proof he doesn’t want to solve the problem.
Abortion Focus
Allred sought to tie Cruz to Texas’ abortion ban, which is one of the strictest in the country.
Cruz responded by saying that neither candidate had a vote on the Texas abortion law, since it was a state matter.
Cruz was asked about his support for a bill in the Senate in 2021 with the exceptions of rape and incest, leading to a question on his beliefs since he supported the Texas law without exceptions.
Allred named several women who were allegedly harmed by the Texas law, while blaming Cruz.
“Look into the camera and talk to Amanda Zurawski, who’s watching right now, and explain to her why it’s perfectly reasonable that because she had a complication with her pregnancy and was denied care for so long that, she may never be able to have children of her own,” he said.
Zurawski was one of five women who sued Texas in 2023 over its abortion ban, claiming it denied women the care they needed.
Cruz fell back on Trump’s position during the debate, saying that abortion should be left to the states without clarifying his position.
Transgender Rights
Cruz went on the offensive over transgender issues, pointing to positions that many conservative Texans oppose, such as allowing men who identify as female to compete in women’s sports.
He brought up Allred’s voting for the Equality Act, noting that it allows male students to use the same restrooms and locker rooms as girls.
Allred defended his vote, saying he was concerned about protecting the rights of all students under the bill, which would amend civil rights laws to prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
“I don’t support boys playing girls sports,” Allred said.
Cruz also criticized Allred for voting against the Protecting Women and Girls in Sports Act, which bans transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports.
“Congressman Allred was an NFL linebacker. It is not fair for a man to compete against women,” he said.
In response, Allred accused Cruz of hypocrisy on women’s rights, saying that whilst Cruz was willing to support girls and women in sports, the senator failed to help them when it came down to their health and right to an abortion.
Supporting Israel
Both candidates claimed they supported Israel’s battle against Hamas terrorists.
Allred said Israel has the right to defend itself after the Hamas Oct. 7 terrorist attack in the south of the Jewish state.
Like Harris, he called for a ceasefire, adding that people on both sides deserve peace in order to live their lives.
Cruz pointed to his long record of defending Israel. “Our position should be that America stands unshakably with Israel,” Cruz said.
He accused Allred of supporting the release of billions of dollars in frozen funds to Iran that financed terrorism and claimed that one of Allred’s biggest supporters also funded anti-semitic protests on college campuses.
Allred, meanwhile, said that Cruz voted against a bill in Congress to provide military funding and aid to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan that would have addressed humanitarian issues in Gaza and around the world, characterising Cruz as one of the “far right.”
Candidates Spar Over ‘Threat to Democracy’
Allred attempted to link Cruz to the Jan. 6 capitol riot, accusing the senator of hiding in a closet while he was ready to defend the House on the floor of Congress that day.
He also called Cruz a “threat to Democracy,” a familiar refrain Democrats use against Trump in the aftermath of Jan. 6.
Cruz said that Democrats love to talk about Jan. 6 but are silent on the destruction and violence surrounding the Black Lives Matter and Antifa riots.
The senator said that the actual threat to Democracy was undermining the voting system in America by rejecting the SAVE Act.