Cruz, Allred tout crossover appeal to win US Senate matchup

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas primary voters set up a general election matchup between Ted Cruz and Colin Allred later this year, and early messaging from the two candidates vying for the state’s U.S. Senate seat seems to focus on who has more bipartisan appeal than the other.

Allred, the Dallas Congressman, told a crowd of supporters during his victory speech Tuesday night that his record could draw in more than just Democratic voters to support his bid to unseat Cruz.

ELECTION RESULTS: Texas primary elections

“I’m proud of being the most bipartisan member of the Texas delegation, not because bipartisanship in and of itself is the goal, but because getting things done is the goal,” Allred said.

His remarks still had some jabs at Cruz, such as his trip to Cancún during the 2021 winter storm and his recent opposition to the border legislation negotiated in the Senate. However, the firebrand Republican rolled out a new digital ad Wednesday touting his abilities to draw crossover voters.

The video features several self-admitted Democratic voters who share why they’re now supporting Cruz. It’s part of an effort his campaign is calling the Democrats for Cruz Coalition.

“The national Democratic Party has abandoned Texans,” Cruz said in a statement. “I am proud to welcome the support of Democrats across the Lone Star State who have placed their trust in me to continue leading the fight for jobs, opportunities, and security.”

Nancy Thompson, who serves as executive director of the progressive Mothers For Democracy said the approach is laughable. The group is also known as Mothers Against Greg Abbott. When asked whether Cruz has bipartisan appeal among Democrats, Thompson responded, “no, unless it’s bipartisan in that we all don’t like him.”

The Cruz campaign, though, may feel more momentum after Tuesday’s primaries. He received more than 1.9 million votes from Republicans statewide, according to the unofficial results shared by the Texas Secretary of State’s Office. That’s nearly three times what Allred got in his election (597,000).

Joshua Blank, the research director at the Texas Politics Project, pointed out other factors that may have been at play during the elections.

“It’s easy to make comparisons, but the Republicans had a very, very active campaign, especially at the statehouse level that was seeking to really drive out voters, honestly, for down-ballot races,” Blank said. “There was nothing like that going on the Democratic side.”

Thompson’s organization previously endorsed Allred’s primary opponent, State Sen. Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio. However, she said she’s now urging supporters to get behind Allred. Her group will also put out its first ad soon against Cruz, she added.

“We’re asking people who are voters and non-voters: the time is now to work together on the big picture so that we can defeat Ted Cruz,” Thompson said.

Polling released ahead of the primary elections by the University of Texas and the Texas Politics Project showed how some voters felt about a potential matchup between Allred and Cruz. Those results showed the Republican leading by 14 percentage points (46% Cruz, 32% Allred), while 13% of the respondents said they had yet to make up their minds and 9% said “someone else.”

Allred would have to defy historical odds to potentially topple Cruz in the Senate race. A Democratic candidate has not been elected statewide in Texas for 30 years. Cruz narrowly won this seat in 2018 by about 2.5 percentage points over Beto O’Rourke.

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