Ted Cruz-Colin Allred Senate debate
DALLAS - With three weeks before Election Day, Republican Senator Ted Cruz and his challenger, Democrat Congressman Colin Allred met in Dallas on Tuesday night to debate.
This Texas Senate race could help determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.
Democrats have focused much of their attention on defending seats that are crucial to their thin majority, including Montana, Ohio and West Virginia. However, Texas is viewed as one of the chances to pick up a seat in the Senate this year.
Cruz has urged Republicans to take Texas seriously amid signs that he is in another competitive race. The last time Cruz was on the ballot in 2018, he only narrowly won reelection over challenger Beto O’Rourke.
The debate presents Allred, a three-term congressman from Dallas and former NFL linebacker, with a chance to boost his name identification to a broad Texas audience. Allred has made protecting abortion rights a centerpiece of his campaign and has been sharply critical of the state’s abortion ban, which is one of the strictest in the nation. The issue has been a winning one for Democrats, even in red states like Kentucky and Kansas, ever since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 to strip away constitutional protections for abortion.
READ MORE: Ted Cruz-Colin Allred: Where the candidates stand on the issues
Cruz, who quickly made a name for himself in the Senate as an uncompromising conservative and ran for president in 2016, has refashioned his campaign to focus on his legislative record. He portrays his opponent as too liberal. Allred has meanwhile sought to flash moderate credentials and has the endorsement of former Republican U.S. Reps. Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney.
The two candidates alone have raised close to $100 million, according to the most recent reports from the Federal Election Commission. Tens of millions more dollars have been spent by outside groups, making it one of the most expensive races in the country.
READ MORE: Ted Cruz leads Colin Allred by 4 points in US Senate race, poll shows
Despite Texas’ reputation as a deep-red state and the Democrats’ 30-year statewide drought, the party has grown increasingly optimistic in recent years that they can win here.
Since former President Barack Obama lost Texas by more than 15 percentage points in 2012, the margins have steadily declined. Former President Donald Trump won by 9 percentage points in 2016, and four years later, won by less than 6. That was the narrowest victory for a Republican presidential candidate in Texas since 1996.
"Texas is a red state," said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University in Houston. "But it’s not a ruby-red state."
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Texas Voting Guide: What you need to know
The 2024 Election is just weeks away. Here's a voting guide for Texans and those in Travis County and the surrounding areas.
Ted Cruz-Colin Allred: Where the candidates stand on the issues
Ted Cruz and Colin Allred are locked in a tight race to represent Texas in the United States Senate.
Polls show Allred and Cruz are only separated by a few points.
Here is what you need to know about the candidates and where they stand on the key issues that matter most to Texans, according to a recent poll from the University of Texas at Austin-Texas Politics Project.
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Important dates for the November 2024 General Election
Monday, Oct. 21 - Early voting begins for the November 2024 General Election
Friday, Oct. 25 - Mail-in ballot application deadline for the November 2024 General Election
Friday, Nov. 1 - Early voting ends for the November 2024 General Election
Tuesday, Nov. 5 - 2024 General Election Day
County Election Information
The FOX 7 Elections page also has breakdowns of some of the hot ticket items Texans are voting on during this election.
Central Texas counties are listed below in alphabetical order.
Bastrop County
Click here for the county election website.
Bell County
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Bexar County
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Blanco County
Click here for the county election website.
Burnet County
Click here for the county election website.
Caldwell County
Click here for the county election website.
Comal County
Click here for the county election website.
Fayette County
Click here for the county election website.
Gillespie County
Click here for the county election website.
Hays County
Click here for the county election website.
Lee County
Click here for the county election website.
Llano County
Click here for the county election website.
Milam County
Click here for the county election website.
Travis County
Click here for the county election website.