In a race too close for comfort, with everything on the line, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) delivered a masterful debate performance on Wednesday night. Facing off against Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), the current senator pummelled his opponent on issue after issue. Allred wasn’t ready for primetime, contradicting himself at multiple points and walking right into numerous receipt-laden traps set by Cruz.
Cruz came into the debate planning to expose Allred for the radical he is, not the moderate he claims to be. I think it’s safe to say he succeeded.
CRUZ: He’s said not a word about his own record. I have to admit that at the beginning of it, it reminded me of Kamala Harris in the debates answering everything, “Look, I was born in the middle class.” It’s some lines that sound nice that ignore his record. Let’s just talk about his voting record. Again, you can go to allredfacts.com, you can see the actual votes. Four times, he has come out for men playing in women’s sports and boys playing in girl’s sports. He is a co-sponsor and he voted for a law called the Equality Act. The Equality Act mandated that boys be able to go into girl’s bathrooms, locker rooms, and their changing rooms.
ALLRED: (mumbling) That’s not true, that’s not true
CRUZ: He voted for it. That is his record. Number two, there was a bill, it was a very simple bill, it was narrowly defined. It was protecting women and girl’s sports. He voted no. The only issue on that bill was whether biological boys should compete against our daughters. Congressman Allred was an NFL linebacker. It is not fair for a man to compete against women.
The third time, he signed onto something called the Transgender Bill of Rights. The Transgender Bill of Rights explicitly, and he cosponsored it, mandated that boys compete against girls in sports. And just two weeks ago, Congressman Allred joined a hundred radical Democrats in demanding that our military allow drag shows on military bases, pay for soldiers to have sex changes using taxpayer money, and pay for children to be sterilized and have sex changes on military bases. Again, that’s extreme. That’s not Texas, but that’s his voting record.
While Allred has been bombarding the airwaves with ads claiming he’s tough on the border and a social moderate, the truth is far different. As Cruz laid out with such precision, the congressman went to Washington and did what Democrats in Washington always do. He sponsored and voted for a variety of radical, far-left policies that make most people in Texas wince.
Over and over, on the issue of transgenderism, Allred enthusiastically voted with his party and against protecting children. Far from the rebel he claims to be, the congressman has been a rubber stamp for the most extreme facets of the left-wing agenda. He can try to run from that record, but he can’t hide from it.
The pummelling just continued from there. On abortion, Cruz drew a sharp contrast, pointing out that Allred voted for federal legislation that would have legalized abortion until birth in every state.
When the topic of antisemitism came up, Cruz again brought the receipts, pointing out that Allred has toed the Democrat line on Gaza and Hamas. The congressman, much like vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, also has a history of befriending and working with radical Islamists.
SEE: Tim Walz Caught in Scandal Involving a Muslim Cleric and Adolf Hitler
CRUZ: Congressman Allred invited a radical Imam in Dallas who called Zionists monsters and has compared them to Nazis. Congressman Allred calls them the best of North Texas. I don’t support those who engage in antisemitic actions, and I will tell you, the funders of the antisemitic protests on college campuses are among Congressman Allred’s biggest supporters. We need clarity, we need to draw a line, and as for me and my home, we will stand with Israel.
CRUZ: Right now, Kamala Harris & Colin Allred both want the votes of the anti-Semites on college campuses. I don’t want their votes, and if they threaten Jewish students, they should be arrested, they should be prosecuted, they should be expelled, and if they are from another country, they should be deported.
Of course, the biggest liability for Allred is his opposition to Donald Trump’s border policies. While the congressman has repeatedly claimed to be tough on the border, his comments and voting record when he wasn’t running for the U.S. Senate paint a very different picture.
CRUZ: In his entire answer, Congressman Allred makes zero reference to anything he’s actually done in office. As Gromer Jeffers rightly noted in his question, Congressman Allred has said publicly that if you believe border security matters, he thinks you’re a racist. He calls the border wall quote, “That racist border wall,” and he has pledged to tear down that “racist border wall” personally, and he said quote, “We will not have that wall in this country.”
And by the way, that’s been his consistent voting record. He’s voted against that wall not once, not twice, but three times. Every single time there’s a serious measure to secure the border, Colin Allred votes no. Look, it’s a pattern we’ve seen at the presidential level because it’s what Kamala Harris does as well, and understand at home, Colin Allred is Kamala Harris. Their records are the same. I’ve served with both of them. They’ve voted in favor of open borders over and over and over again, and now they are desperately trying to hide that from the voters.
Now at the end, Congressman Allred said, “Well gosh, Cruz hasn’t done anything on that,” but let’s talk about my record. When Donald Trump was president, I worked hand-in-hand with President Trump to secure the border and we achieved incredible success. We produced the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 40 years. That’s what Joe Biden and Kamala Harris inherited. It’s what Colin Allred inherited, and they deliberately broke it and opened the border, and Texas is paying the price.
Allred didn’t go to Washington and buck his party to help solve the border crisis. Instead, all he mustered was a vote for a meaningless resolution. When it came to actual policy, the congressman was a rubber stamp for the Biden administration, whether that be his voting record or his rhetoric.
In the end, Cruz took his opponent apart. Anyone who watched that debate should no longer be confused about who would be heading to the Senate if Allred were to win. At best, he’d become just another “yes man” for Chuck Schumer. At worst, if Kamala Harris were to win the presidency, he’d likely represent the decisive vote to enact her agenda. Texans need to choose wisely. This isn’t the time to play around with yet another faux “moderate” Democrat who will be anything but once on the job.
