Senator Ted Cruz declares victory over Rep. Colin Allred, winning third term – Houston Public Media

Republican Senator Ted Cruz declared victory against his Democratic challenger, Dallas Congressman Colin Allred, to win a third term as Texas's junior senator. Preliminary results compiled by the Texas Secretary of State's Office showed Cruz leading Allred by 55.7% to 42.3% statewide at the time Allred conceded the race.

Cruz and Allred together raised more than $166 million . Cruz raised more than $86.7 million, including funds raised before Allred entered the race, while Allred raised more than $80 million. That made it the most expensive congressional contest in the nation during the 2024 cycle. It also demolished the previous record for a Texas congressional contest set six years ago, when Cruz and his then-opponent, Congressman Beto O'Rourke, collectively raised about $124 million.

Cruz poured much of his war chest into an advertising campaign that sought to paint Allred as too liberal for Texas. He aimed to link Allred to the immigration and border security policies of the Biden administration, even though Allred was one of a handful of Democratic House members who signed onto a Republican resolution condemning those policies. He also heavily criticized Allred for opposing Republican measures to bar transgender athletes from participating in school sports.

Allred spent much of his campaign hammering Cruz's record of opposition to abortion and reproductive rights, echoing Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign against former President Donald Trump. That attack line was on stark display the next-to-last Friday of the race, when Allred took the stage at Shell Energy Stadium ahead of Harris at her Houston campaign rally . Allred also attacked Cruz's record on the border, claiming Cruz had done nothing to secure it in his 12 years in the Senate, and he hit Cruz over his flight from the state during Winter Storm Uri and his actions during the January 6 insurrection.

In the end, it was Cruz's messaging on the border and transgender issues that won over more voters than Allred's on abortion and reproductive rights.

Cruz will return to a Senate still in the minority/that has flipped to Republican control. (If the latter: The shift puts him in line for a plum committee assignment – the chairmanship of the Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee, of which he was previously the ranking member.) He'll also be positioned as one of the prime Senate voices opposing President-elect Harris/supporting President-elect Trump.

Additional reporting contributed by KERA's Penelope Rivera.