Ted Cruz and Colin Allred face off in a heated debate days before early voting begins in Texas

The only debate between Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and his Democratic challenger, Congressman Colin Allred, was heated from the start and showed no sign of letting up.

Allred, who was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018, won the coin toss and settled for first place. In his introduction, Allred highlighted his Texas roots and his childhood growing up with a single mother. He also called himself the “most bipartisan Texan in Congress” before calling Cruz “the most extreme senator in the U.S. Senate.”

Cruz, who is hoping voters will send him back to Washington for another term, started off on a softer note, appearing to congratulate Allred on his upbringing and success. But a warning to viewers of the pair’s only debate quickly followed – Cruz said Allred would say “a lot of words that sound reasonable” while avoiding pointed questions about his voting record.

Just two minutes into the hour-long debate, it was clear that neither candidate would shy away from highlighting why their opponent was completely unsuited for the job.

Early voting begins in Texas in less than a week. That makes Tuesday night’s debate the candidates’ final attempt to rally their base and possibly convince some undecided voters to vote in their favor.

In recent weeks, polls have shown the candidates separated by just a few points. A survey from the UH Hobby School of Public Affairs published just hours before the debate put Cruz ahead by 4 points.

For Cruz, a victory in November would mark his third term as the state’s junior senator. If Allred wins, he would be the first Democrat to hold statewide elected office in three decades.

Cruz and Allred on abortion and IVF

The debate, hosted by WFAA in Dallas, began with a question about abortion — a topic Allred appeared eager to discuss. Texas has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, with no exceptions for rape or incest.

Allred told Cruz to reach out to “the 26,000 Texas women who were forced to give birth to their rapist’s child under this law, which you called perfectly reasonable.” Allred also rebuked Senator Cruz for making the celebrated the overthrow Roe v. Wadesome Cruz called a “massive victory for life.”

Cruz did not directly address his stance on abortion exemptions, saying he does not “serve in the state legislature” and is not the governor. Cruz then accused Allred of having voted for the “legalization of abortion up to and including the eighth and ninth month of pregnancy.”

Throughout the exchange, Allred and Cruz were animated as their opponent talked – Allred shaking his head and at times Cruz laughing at Allred’s claims.

Allred said if elected he would “restore a woman’s right to choose.” He then turned to tell everyone watching, “When Ted Cruz says he’s pro-life, he doesn’t mean yours.”

Cruz shot back, telling the moderator to get Allred to answer questions about his voting record on the issue.

Later in the hour, the candidates also argued about protecting in vitro fertilization, with each blaming the other party for creating problems surrounding IVF in the first place. This comes after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that discarded embryos from fertility treatments were considered children under state law.

Border Security for Texas and the Country

Another key point of contention Tuesday was border security, one of the top issues Cruz and Allred have discussed on the campaign trail.

The first question on the topic went to Allred, who was asked why he changed his position on expanding the border wall. Moderators pointed out that Allred opposed the idea when former President Donald Trump was in office, calling it “racist,” but began supporting the expansion plan when President Joe Biden took office.

Allred dodged the question and instead addressed the question, like Senator Cruz refused support a bipartisan border bill earlier this year that Allred called “the toughest border security law in a generation.” (This has been a frequent topic of conversation for Allred and Fodder recently Campaign ad).

Cruz criticized Allred’s own voting record, saying, “Every time there’s a serious measure in the House to secure the border, Colin Allred votes no.” Cruz continued to link Allred to Vice President Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, saying both “We voted for open borders again and again.”

The candidates on the subject of economics

The candidates also had a chance to talk about inflation and the economy, topics that Cruz and Republicans have been comfortable talking about this campaign season.

Cruz began his post by blaming Harris and Allred for inflation, saying they “spent trillions of dollars that we didn’t have.”

Allred responded that he is “very focused” on reducing the cost of prescription drugs, health care, child care and housing. This also gave Allred the chance to try and attack Cruz limit the cost of insulin for those on Medicare, which failed in the Senate after the House passed it.

Cruz was able to turn that around on Allred, accusing Democrats of scuttling a plan by former President Trump to make insulin affordable (a line Trump also used during his debate with Harris and which was fact-checked by Trump). CNN and declared false).

When the conversation turned to housing, Allred’s vision closely resembled Vice President Harris’s plan to increase the housing supply.

On the other hand, Cruz blamed the high cost of housing on “the 11.5 million illegal immigrants that Congressmen Allred and Kamala Harris brought in with their open borders.”

The debate covered a wide range of other topics, including the war in Gaza, whether or not pardons should be given to participants in the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and the rising cost of home insurance in areas prone to natural disasters .

A tough and expensive Senate race

The contest for U.S. Senate in Texas is one of the most hotly contested races in the country this election year. That’s likely due in part to the narrow victory Cruz won in his last election: he beat Democrat Beto O’Rourke in 2018 by just over 200,000 Voices.

Democrats, desperate to retain their majority in the U.S. Senate, see an opportunity in Texas, and money has been poured into the race to benefit Allred.

Allred outperformed Cruz in the last fundraising cycle. Overall, the Texas Tribune reports that both candidates have been approached a total of $132 million in the course of the campaign so far.

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