Ted Cruz snaps at moderator during testy debate with Senate race rival Colin Allred

Ted Cruz got testy with both Democrat opponent Colin Allred and the moderators of his debate Tuesday night. 

Cruz and Allred, a sitting House member, met for their only debate Tuesday, trading attacks over abortion and immigration in a closely watched race that could help determine which party wins control of the Senate.

Nationally, Democrats view Texas as one of their few potential pickup chances in the Senate this year, while Cruz has urged Republicans to take Texas seriously amid signs that the former 2016 presidential contender is in another competitive race to keep his seat.

From start to finish in the hourlong debate, Cruz sought to link Allred to Vice President Kamala Harris at nearly every opportunity and painted the three-term Dallas congressman as out of step in a state where voters have not elected a Democrat to a statewide office in 30 years.

At one point, Cruz appeared to grow frustrated with how the debate moderators were treating him, begging for a minute and then 30 seconds more to respond to Allreds attacks on energy policy. 

Ted Cruz got testy with both Democrat opponent Colin Allred and the moderators of his debate Tuesday night

Cruz and Allred, a sitting House member, met for their only debate Tuesday, trading attacks over abortion and immigration in a closely watched race that could help determine which party wins control of the Senate

Cruz later blasted Allred over his support of transgender rights and immigration polices of President Joe Biden and Harris, accusing him of shifting his views on border security from the positions he took when he was first elected to Congress in 2018. 

Colin Allred is Kamala Harris, he said. Their records are the same. 

Allred, who would become Texas first Black senator if elected, called Cruz a threat to democracy and hammered him over the states abortion ban that is one of the most restrictive in the nation and does not allow exceptions in cases of rape or incest. 

The issue is central to Allreds underdog campaign and his supporters include Texas women who had serious pregnancy complications after the states ban took effect.

Pressed on whether he supports Texas law, Cruz said the specifics of abortion law have been and should be decided by the Texas Legislature.

I don´t serve in the state Legislature. I´m not the governor, he said.

Allred accused the two-term U.S. senator of mischaracterizing his record and repeatedly jabbed Cruz for his family vacation to Mexico during a deadly winter storm in 2021 that crippled the state´s power grid.

When the lights went out in the energy capital of the world, he went to Cancún. On Jan. 6, when a mob was storming the Capitol, he was hiding a supply closet. And when the toughest border security bill in a generation came up in the United States Senate, he took it down, Allred said.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, right, speaks during a U.S. Senate debate with Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Dallas

Nationally, Democrats view Texas as one of their few potential pickup chances in the Senate this year, while Cruz has urged Republicans to take Texas seriously amid signs that the former 2016 presidential contender is in another competitive race to keep his seat

Cruz - who said he will fight to keep Texas Texas - responded by grinning and saying that Allred has memorized his lines well but that he votes far to the left of his bipartisan campaigning. 

Congressman Allred was an NFL linebacker. It is not fair for a man to compete against women, Cruz said of Allreds support for transgender people, which Allred denied. 

The last time Cruz was on the ballot in 2018, he only narrowly won reelection over challenger Beto ORourke.

The debate offered Allred, a former NFL linebacker, 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 states abortion ban. 

The issue has been a winning one for Democrats, even in red states like Kentucky and Kansas, ever since the Supreme Courts decision in 2022 to strip away constitutional protections for abortion.

Cruz blasted Allred over his support of transgender rights and immigration polices of President Joe Biden and Harris, accusing him of shifting his views on border security from the positions he took when he was first elected to Congress in 2018 

Allred, who would become Texas first Black senator if elected, called Cruz a threat to democracy and hammered him over the states abortion ban that is one of the most restrictive in the nation and does not allow exceptions in cases of rape or incest 

Cruz, who fast made a name for himself in the Senate as an uncompromising conservative, has refashioned his campaign to focus on his legislative record.

Allred has meanwhile sought to flash moderate credentials and has the endorsement of Republicans 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.

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.