Colin Allred and Ted Cruz argue in the Texas Senate debate

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DALLAS – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and his Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, squared off on immigration, abortion and transgender rights in a spirited debate Tuesday in what is expected to be the only face-off between the two candidates on stage before the Election campaign will be in November. 5 choice.

During the hour-long debate, Cruz called Allred “radical and extreme” and repeatedly urged the audience to consider Allred's voting record over his efforts to portray himself as a moderate. He attempted to link Allred to Vice President Kamala Harris, claiming the two had “voted for open borders time and time again” and were both responsible for the rise in inflation under the Biden administration.

“We are doing a lot right in the state of Texas,” Cruz opened the debate. “Colin Allred wants to change that. I want to keep Texas, Texas.”

Allred countered by attacking Cruz as a partisan bomb-thrower who has had few legislative successes in his nearly 12 years in office. He criticized Cruz for helping push a bipartisan border package earlier this year, saying the Republican senator was “only focused on himself,” pointing to Cruz's trip to Cancun in 2021 , as Texas was paralyzed by a historic winter storm.

“He’s never there for us when we need him,” Allred said. “When the lights went out in the energy capital of the world, he went to Cancún. When a mob stormed the Capitol, he hid in a supply closet. And when the toughest border security bill in a generation came up in the US Senate, he took it back.”

The debate, held at WFAA-TV's studios in downtown Dallas, proved combative from start to finish, with Cruz and Allred offering sharp remarks on nearly every topic that came up. In his opening statement, Allred called Cruz “perhaps the most extreme” member of the Senate in the last 30 years. Cruz concluded with the message that Allred “wants to destroy what we have in Texas because he shares the values ​​of Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris.”

The debate began with a focus on Texas' abortion ban, which does not exclude cases of rape and incest. Allred has made restoring abortion access a central part of his campaign, while Cruz has largely avoided the issue. When pressed Tuesday for his opinion on the issue of rape and incest exemptions, Cruz said the issue should be addressed at the state level and declined to comment. He then criticized Allred for blaming the issue on him in his television commercials.

“You know, Congressman Allred is running all sorts of ads saying I made this decision,” Cruz said. “I don’t work in the state parliament. I’m not the governor.”

Allred has joined the state's abortion ban in the home stretch of the election, running ads highlighting the stories of women who were forced to leave the state after being denied emergency medical care due to pregnancy complications. He raised the issue again Tuesday night, disputing Cruz's self-description as a “pro-lifer.”

“You’re not pro-life,” Allred said, turning to Cruz. “It is not life-threatening to deny women care for so long that they can no longer have children. It is not life-threatening to force a rape victim to carry her rapist's baby to term. … Understand that when Ted Cruz says he’s pro-life, he doesn’t mean yours.”

Allred later became defensive when asked about a series of ads from Cruz and his allies that accused the Dallas Democrat of supporting legislation that would allow men to use women's restrooms and boys to participate in girls' sports to enable.

The ads cite Allred's vote against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023, a GOP bill that would eliminate federal funding for sports programs that allow men to compete “based solely on a person's reproductive biology and genetics.” of birth” to take part in competitions in women’s or girls’ sports.

Allred called the attacks a “Hail Mary” attack and a “desperate” attempt to deviate from Cruz's stance on abortion, calling it “ridiculous” that the Republican senator said he wanted to protect women.

“I think people shouldn’t be discriminated against,” Allred said. “What Senator Cruz should be trying to explain to you is why he thinks they should do it.”

Cruz criticized Allred for supporting a 2021 bill called the Equality Act that would have banned gender discrimination in public places, even if a person is transgender. He also criticized Allred for recently joining dozens of other House Democrats in signing a letter calling on Republican lawmakers to remove provisions from an annual defense bill that would “restrict essential medical care for transgender service members.” ” and restricting the use of pride include flags on pedestals.

“Do you know what he was arguing for? Military bases should be able to host drag shows and fly a transgender flag over them,” Cruz said. “Call me old-fashioned — I think the only flag that should fly over our military base should be the American flag.”

Cruz also faced questions during the debate about his comments about the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Cruz initially called the events a “violent terrorist attack” before walking back the comment, calling it “sloppy” and “sloppy.” “Frankly stupid.” When asked about his change in attitude, Cruz turned the subject to Allred.

“Congressman Allred likes to talk about those who committed acts of violence on January 6th, but you don't hear him talk about the Antifa and Black Lives Matter riots that burned cities across the country,” Cruz said, referring to to the protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. “If you commit a violent act you should go to prison and there should be no political favoritism in that regard.”

Both candidates have tried to portray themselves as moderates willing to work across the aisle, each touting mutual support from politicians from the opposing party. Allred's GOP supporters include former U.S. Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both of whom are leading critics of former President Donald Trump in their party. Cruz, meanwhile, has received the support of Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, who lost in the Democratic primary earlier this year. Ogg is the most prominent member of the Democrats for Cruz coalition, which the Republican senator has assembled to weaken his reputation as a partisan bomb-thrower.

Cruz compared Allred's responses to Harris and his voting record to those of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In response, Allred accused Cruz of “recently transitioning to being someone who actually wants to get things done.”

Allred noted that he is a previous recipient of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Jefferson Hamilton Prize for Bipartisanship, which Cruz said helped him in the Senate race.

Allred tried to steer the discussion back to Cruz's role in certifying the 2020 election, urging his colleagues to object to the certification of results in some states and calling for a 10-day audit to address unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud in the disputed states to investigate. Allred said Cruz was “a threat to democracy” and recalled the day's harrowing events when members of Congress were told to “look under our feet for gas masks.”

After the debate, Glen Whitley, a Republican and former Tarrant County judge who recently announced his support for Allred, said Cruz's approach to the 2020 election was one of the reasons he supported the Democratic candidate. He argued that Allred was on the subject of “6. January” and did particularly well on immigration.

“It's a huge deal when you see the Democrat win the border debate over a Republican,” Whitley said.

Cruz strategist Sam Cooper said his candidate has “advanced a positive vision for the state of Texas,” pointing to Cruz's arguments for a limited regulatory environment for oil and gas and other industries as well as his “track record of creating jobs” for the state State.

“Congressman Allred is Kamala Harris. Their record is no different,” Cooper said. “When pressed about his record, the congressman repeatedly refused to respond.”

Recent polls have shown Cruz leading Allred by about 3 to 5 percentage points, although some polls have shown the race to be even closer. Allred is hoping to close the gap in recent weeks after campaign finance reports showed he had overtaken Cruz in fundraising in recent months.