Texas voters stick with Ted Cruz, two-term senator projected to win third term

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Incumbent Ted Cruz won a third term in the U.S. Senate Tuesday, narrowly defeating Democrat U.S. Rep. Colin Allred in the race to be the state's junior senator.

Cruz, the projected winner, with 71% of the vote tallied leads with 53.56% of the vote to Allred's 44.44%. Cruz's next six-year term will begin on Jan. 3, 2025 if the projection holds.

"Tonight is an incredible night. A huge victory here in Texas," Cruz said. "Right now we're up by 8 points and over 600,000 votes. And they're still counting votes. It also looks very likely that we're going to have a Republican Senate next year. And I believe, and I hope and pray, that Donald Trump will be reelected as President of the United States."

Allred's challenge of Cruz's senate seat began in May 2023 when he announced his plan to unseat the Republican and become the Lone Star State's first Black senator.

"I want to congratulate Colin Allred on a hard-fought campaign. And I want to say to all of those who didn't support me, you have my word that I will fight for you, for your jobs, for your safety, and for your constitutional rights," Cruz said. "But tonight, the people of Texas have spoken, and their message rings clear as a bell across our great state. Texas will remain Texas."

Allred's challenge of Cruz's senate seat began in May 2023 when he announced his plan to unseat the Republican and become the Lone Star State's first Black senator.

Throughout his 18-month campaign, Allred tried to label Cruz as dangerous, pointing to his efforts to undo the outcome of the 2020 presidential election by refusing to certify the election results. Allred also accused Cruz of cheering on the Jan. 6 mob at the U.S. Capitol while hiding in a supply closet. Allred was often critical of Cruz's position on Texas's strict abortion laws and said, "Women should have the freedom to make their own reproductive health care decisions without interference from the government."

In campaign messages, Allred didn't let Texans forget about Cruz's sudden trip to Cancun during the deadly 2021 winter storm that sent temperatures well below freezing for nine straight days, crippling the state's power grid and knocking out power to millions. Cruz was panned over the trip, and many said he should have stayed home to help his constituents.

When Cruz was on the offensive, he labeled Allred as "anti-woman" and "anti-parental" and said Allred voted to allow boys in girls locker rooms and against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023. Cruz attacked Allred's voting record, saying he was "too extreme" and "too liberal" for Texas and was "out of touch" with voters in the state.

In their only debate, Allred said Cruz was one of the most divisive senators in Congress and that if people disliked anything happening in Washington, D.C., Cruz was singularly responsible. Cruz said Allred has a radical agenda and wants to destroy Texas by giving illegal immigrants the right to vote, turning Texas blue, and bringing a change to Republican state leadership.

Allred was born and raised in North Dallas and attended Hillcrest High School. He is a former NFL linebacker who was a standout at Baylor University and later attended law school at UC Berkeley. Since leaving professional football, Allred has worked in the Obama administration under Julián Castro in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He later returned to private practice before being elected in 2018 to the U.S. House to represent Dallas in Dist. 32.

Before joining the U.S. Senate, Cruz clerked for Chief Justice of the United States William Rehnquist, was an associate deputy attorney general, worked for the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, and was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003-2008. Cruz is an attorney and has degrees from Princeton and Harvard. Cruz was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012, winning the seat vacated by retiring U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, and was narrowly reelected six years later in the most expensive U.S. Senate race in Texas history.

Cruz unsuccessfully ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and famously withheld his endorsement of the party's eventual nominee, Donald Trump, for several months, calling him a "pathological liar" and a "narcissist." Cruz eventually endorsed Trump and now considers him an ally.

Texas Democrats haven't won statewide office since 1994. Bob Kreuger was the last Democratic U.S. Senator to represent Texas. Kreuger was in office for five months in 1993 after being appointed by Gov. Ann Richards to finish the term vacated by Democrat Lloyd Bentsen, who resigned to become the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican, was elected to finish Bentsen's term in June 1993.