Testy Debate Between Cruz And Allred

The first and likely only debate for the Texas Senate took place in Dallas last night. As Congressman Colin Allred and Senator Ted Cruz entered the stage they shook hands. And that’s about when the pleasantries ended. 

As the challenger, Allred got right to the point in his introduction, noting that he was the most bipartisan member of the Texas delegation. He then called Cruz the opposite, and even said he might be “the most extreme [politician] of the last thirty years.”

During the debate Cruz was forced to defend several extremist positions, namely when it came to reproductive freedom. The first question of the debate pertained to abortion. The moderators tried to pinpoint several times whether Cruz supports the Texas abortion ban, which has no exceptions for rape or incest. He dodged the question after he was asked multiple times.

Allred said that if we he were elected to the Senate he would be a vote for restoring Roe v. Wade. He also mentioned several women, Kate Cox, Amanda Zurawski, and Lauren Miller, who had to leave the state to receive reproductive care. “I trust Texas women to make their own healthcare decisions,” said Allred.

Throughout the debate Cruz attempted to portray Allred as radical. He also mentioned Vice President Kamala Harris several times. At one point when he was talking about the border he said, “Colin Allred is Kamala Harris.”

Perhaps the testiest moment in the debate came to a question about pardoning participants in the January 6 Insurrection. Allred chastised Cruz for his role in objecting to the certification of the electors. "You can’t be for the mob and for the cops,” he said. After Cruz laughed, Allred looked at him angrily and called him a threat to democracy.

Another heated moment came in a question over IVF. Cruz kept mentioning a bill that he co-sponsored with Alabama Senator Katie Britt that he alleges would protect IVF. However, the leading medical reproductive organization encouraged the passage of another bill in the Senate which they deemed pro-family. Cruz did not vote for that bill, the Right to IVF Act.

Allred also brought up the fact that when Cruz ran for President in 2016, he supported a personhood amendment. That would not only make IVF untenable, but it would also likely mean certain forms of contraception are illegal.