Tipsheet

Ted Cruz Fends Off Another Democratic Challenger to Win Reelection

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  November 05, 2024 10:20 PM

On Tuesday night, approximately two hours after the polls closed, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz gave his victory speech in Houston, Texas. He managed to fend off his challenger, Democratic Rep. Colin Allred, in the U.S. Senate race out of Texas. Decision Desk HQ called the race at 10:24pm. 

Cruz also fended off former Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke in 2018, and he's projected to do so by even better margins. 

Although there was some chatter in the final weeks that Allred had a chance to emerge victorious as he campaigned with Vice President Kamala Harris in Houston last month to campaign on abortion, it ultimately was not enough. Polls continued to favor Cruz, with one poll from Cygnal showing how such a rally even proved to be a drag on Allred. 

In the final weeks of the race, Allred became increasingly desperate, trying to hide from and even lie about his record on supporting boys and men participating in girls' and women's sports and invading their private spaces. He also was so beholden to that pet issue of abortion that he was in favor of nuking the filibuster in order to pass pro-abortion legislation known as the Women's Health Protection Act, which would actually expand the Roe v. Wade decision by allowing for abortion until the moment of birth in all 50 states without legal limit. Allred has also lied and misled about Cruz's record on immigration and his support for border security, made even worse by him attacking Alexis Nungaray, the mother of Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl who was allegedly murdered and raped by illegal immigrants from Venezuela.

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Even more recently, Allred touted a curious endorsement from Mark Cuban in the final days of the race, who lives and votes in Texas yet still waited as long as he did to endorse Allred. The Harris-Walz surrogate also came under fire for insulting women who dare to vote for former and potentially future President Donald Trump, as he did last week during his appearance on "The View," and then made it worse by trying to explain himself. 

The loss for Allred is a loss for Democrats, whose hopes for retaining control of the Senate, a difficult feat to be sure, likely depended on potentially winning such a seat. Harris not only campaigned with Allred, but Democrats spent significant resources there. 

The presidential race was called earlier in the evening out of Texas for Trump by Decision Desk HQ, at 9 p.m. EST, one hour after the polls closed.