Texas: The Issue Is - Colin Allred discusses several topics, including his race against Ted Cruz

Texas: The Issue Is - Colin Allred on race against Ted Cruz

Representative Colin Allred, who is running for Senate, talks about his race with Ted Cruz.

DALLAS - After speaking with Sen. Ted Cruz last week, Texas: The Issue Is hears from his opponent in the November election, Dallas Congressman Colin Allred.

Allred has an uphill climb to flip Texas blue, but he said he is ready to call out Cruz for not working in the best interest of Texans.

REP. ALLRED: "On November 5th, I think we are going to shock a lot of people."

DIAL: "I don’t think that shock can happen without the Democratic Party being energized and people turning out to the polls. Will a rematch of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump make turn out low for Democrats, or do you think something will change in a couple of months?"

REP. ALLRED: "I think there is going to be incredible enthusiasm around this election. In part because of the stakes, in part because we are now seeing the crystallization of who is on the ballot, and I talked to folks over time who didn't know what that was going to look like. What my campaign has to be is turn out folks and get our fellow Texans involved in their democracy. To also reach out to independents and Republicans. I am the most bipartisan member of the Texas delegation, running against the most extreme senator in the country. We are not an extreme state, our freedoms are at risk. We have to protect and restore those freedoms."

DIAL: "Democrats have not won statewide in decades. What makes you think this year is different?"

REP. ALLRED: "I’m used to overcoming long odds. I was raised by a single mom in Dallas who was a public school teacher. It didn’t seem very likely that when I was growing up I would be here in this seat as a member of Congress, but I also got here by beating a long-term incumbent who nobody thought could not be beaten. There are so many Texans out there who believe it is time for us to have fresh ideas, new leadership, and go in a different direction and not have a senator who only cares about themselves."

DIAL: "When you locked up the nomination, the Cruz campaign rolled out an ad about Democrats for Ted Cruz. Do you think Democrats are breaking with the party and siding with the senator?"

REP. ALLRED: "He’s been proudly an extremist, and so I don't see any crossover here. When I was in the NFL, we would say check the tape because the tape doesn't lie, and for Ted Cruz, the tape is very clear that for 12 years he has been an extremist, a right-wing extremist. He has been proud of that. I think it’s kind of laughable that he is trying to show he has some level of moderation when, for 12 years, he has been so proud he doesn't."

DIAL: "Let’s talk about the border. I know you and some Democrats sided with Republicans when it came to trying to do something. That bill has not come up on the House floor, the bipartisan bill. Do you think Ted Cruz is wrong for opposing that bill?"

REP. ALLRED: "I do think Ted Cruz is entirely wrong to oppose that bill and I don't know why he refuses to help us secure the border. To me, he has been pretty blatant that he wants to run on this issue in November. To me, that should be so offensive to every single Texan. We have been impacted by this crisis on our border more than any other state, and to have a senator who has a chance to help us provide literally billions of dollars in border security funds, additional border security agents, additional immigration judges, additional personnel to speed of the asylum process, billions of dollars for our border communities as well, and to say no to that because what you really want to do is talk about the chaos in the election when you could help solve, it every Texan has to look at that and say, ‘Is that what we really want in a U.S. senator?’"

DIAL: "The House passed a bill that would ban TikTok if it does not divest from its Chinese parent company. You voted with the majority for that bill. Why do you think it’s needed?"

REP. ALLRED: "I want to talk to Texans about this and I hope they can understand. I am a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the threat from our foreign adversaries is very real, and when you have such an influential app controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, it’s a problem for us, it’s a national security problem for us. What we are doing here is not banning TikTok. What we are doing here is saying they must divest, that their ownership has to be separate. This is a national security risk and things have to change. We have done this before with other apps in the past and other areas in our economy."