GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is headed back to Washington after he turned back a challenge from Democratic Rep. Colin Allred, NBC News projects.
Cruz was expected to win a third term in the deep-red state, but the race tightened in recent weeks, drawing national attention and scrutiny as Allred, a prolific fundraiser, spent millions of dollars on TV and digital ads hammering Cruz for his support of the state’s six-week abortion ban.
But the senator kept his deficit among women to a small margin, according to the NBC News exit poll: 47% of female voters cast their ballots for Cruz this year, versus 51% who voted for Allred.
Cruz was boosted by gains he made among Latino voters in the Lone Star state, according to NBC News exit polls.
Fifty-two percent of Hispanic and Latino voters in the state said they voted for Cruz, compared to the just 35% of Hispanic and Latino voters who voted for the senator in 2018, according to the NBC News exit poll.
In addition to focusing on abortion, Allred’s campaign also kept a spotlight on Cruz’s vacation to Cancun in 2021 amid an energy crisis throughout the state from a severe winter storm.
Cruz, 53, fought back, seeking in the final weeks of the campaign to paint Allred as wanting to allow boys to play in girls sports. He also tied Allred, 43, to Vice President Kamala Harris, who was expected to lose the presidential vote in the state, calling the two Democrats “dos liberales,” or, “two liberals” in Spanish-language advertising.
In the end, Allred’s campaign spent more than $50 million on ads in the race, just between Labor Day and Election Day, according to AdImpact. Cruz’s campaign spent $26 million in that time, with an additional $23 million spent by the Truth and Courage PAC, a group backing Cruz.
In the final weeks of the race, Cruz also complained that he was lacking in support from GOP leadership. Specifically, he lamented that the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, was not spending any money to boost him or tank Allred.
In the end, Allred’s bipartisan message and appeal to voters concerned about abortion rights were not enough. Matthew Bartlett, a Republican strategist, said in an interview before Election Day that electing a Democrat as senator in such a red state was a long shot. And Cruz’s party affiliation was perhaps his most valuable asset.
“He’s a Republican in a Republican state, short and sweet. That’s what wins,” Bartlett said. “Texas will go for Trump over Harris, and it’s almost impossible for a Democrat in Texas to overperform the top of the ticket.”
