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

For the second consecutive cycle, Cruz was threatened by Democrats trying to unseat one of the Republican Party’s leading conservative figures. 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 party’s top bogeymen. progressives.

Dallas-based Allred has raised 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 ultimately it wasn’t enough, as Texas retained its reputation as a red state despite Democrats’ attempts over the past decade to withdraw their support and finally put it in their column and thus upend the electoral map. Cruz won his 2018 race against then-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) by 2.5 percentage points.

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

He also leaned into the narrative around Cruz by portraying him 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 only debate in October. “When the lights went out in the energy capital of the world, he went to Cancun. When a mob stormed the Capitol, he hid in a supply closet. And when the toughest border security bill in a generation was introduced in the U.S. Senate, he withdrew it. »

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

“You’re not pro-life,” Allred said during the debate. “It is not pro-life to deny women care for so long that they can no longer have children. It’s not pro-life to force a rape victim to carry her rapist’s baby.”

“Understand that when Ted Cruz says he is pro-life, he is not talking about yours,” he added.

Cruz’s campaign has said he wants to “keep Texas, Texas,” while also trying to promote his growing bipartisan bona fides in recent years. He was a leading GOP member in favor of in vitro fertilization protections.

He also tried to turn the screws on his Democratic opponent by trying to portray him as an unwavering liberal and a supporter of people like President Biden, Vice President Harris and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) instead of the moderate that Allred tried to make. sell yourself as.

“Congressman Allred wants to destroy what we have in Texas, because he shares the values ​​of Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris – and I will fight to keep Texas Texas,” Cruz said to close the debate.

The race has become dicey in recent weeks for the conservative lawmaker. The Hill and Emerson College 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 Montana’s Senate race, decided to invest millions of dollars in Texas and Florida in late September to bolster Allred and former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Florida).

Harris also held a campaign rally in Houston on October 25, which included Beyoncé. It was the last 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 defeat marks a major defeat for Democrats, as the state was by far the party’s best chance for victory in a map with limited opportunities.

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

The idea that he could potentially lead the panel emerged in some Democratic campaigns, particularly in Maryland’s Senate race, as they sought to convince voters to oppose a Republican majority.

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