Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) won reelection to his Texas Senate seat in a closely watched race against Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), a boost for Republicans’ quest for control of the upper chamber.
The Associated Press called the race for Cruz at 11:39 PM ET, shortly after the polls closed in Arizona. With 77 percent ballots counted, Cruz led with 54 percent of the vote. The Texas Republican led with 54 percent of the vote compared to Allred’s 43.9 percent of the vote.
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Cruz, who won a third term, has become a polarizing figure in Texas and rose to prominence as part of the insurgent Tea Party wave. During the campaign, he touted his record working with Democrats in the Senate. The son of a Cuban immigrant also blamed Democrats for the surge of migrants at the border. This cycle, he became the target of attacks for vacationing in Cancun, Mexico, during a deadly winter storm that hit the state in 2021 and left more than 200 people dead.
Allred, a Dallas-area member of Congress who played linebacker at Baylor University and for the NFL’s Tennessee Titans, has become a rising star within the Democratic Party. He defeated Republican incumbent Rep. Pete Sessions in his race for the seat in 2018, and redistricting in 2020 made the district much more favorable to Democratic candidates. The Texas Democrat made abortion access a central part of his campaign.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee recently announced that it would include Texas in a “multimillion-dollar” push to fund television ads on behalf of Allred. Polling in recent weeks had tightened — a survey from the Hill and Emerson College showed Cruz leading Allred 48%-47% with less than two weeks before Election Day.
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But his winning margin was far more comfortable on Tuesday night. In 2018, Cruz had eked out a 3-point victory against former Rep. Beto O’Rourke.
Allred outraised Cruz in the month before Election Day, bringing in over $11.8 million in the first two weeks of the month while Cruz raised over $9.9 million, according to federal election records. Allred raised over $80 million, while Cruz raised over $86.7 million, including the money he raised in the years after his 2018 run.
