Senator Ted Cruz is going through a rising insurrection inside his social gathering as a wave of Texas Republicans rally behind his opponent, Representative Colin Allred.
In interviews with ABC 13 and the Houston Chronicle on Thursday, Allred introduced the formation of the Republicans for Allred coalition, which former Republican state Representative Jason Villalba and former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger will chair.
Other members of the coalition embody former Dallas mayor and Congressman Steve Bartlett, former state Representative and Chairman of the Texas House Elections Committee Todd Smith, former Congressman Alan Steelman, former Deputy Director of the National Economic Council underneath President George W. Bush, Marc Sumerlin, and former state Representative Bennett Ratliff.
“This is a serious effort to reach out to Republicans,” Kinzinger mentioned in a press launch. “You're going to see other folks come out and say ‘look, we're going to put slight differences aside because we actually believe in this country and what it stands for like Colin does and unlike Ted Cruz does.”
“I am a lifelong Republican. I even served Texas in the Legislature as a Reagan Republican. But our current Senator seems to be more focused on his own ambition or serving the interests of extremists than helping ordinary Texans like me,” former State Representative Villaba mentioned in the discharge.
“My Congressman, Colin Allred, on the other hand, has served North Texas with dignity, respect, and a servant's heart. Colin cares about the kitchen table issues that are important to me and my family. He will never put his own personal gain above Texas. That's why I am proud to endorse him.”
Following the announcement, the Cruz marketing campaign dismissed the Republicans for Allred coalition, describing it as a “fake, feel-good vanity project for Allred.”
“Adam Kinzinger trying to relaunch his political career in Texas isn't news. This is clearly nothing more than another fake, feel-good vanity project for Allred,” a spokesperson for the Cruz marketing campaign instructed Newsweek.
“You don't have to look any further than the co-chair, Adam Kinzinger, a disgruntled former congressman who is on a vindictive rampage against everyone with an ‘R' next to their name to know how deeply unserious and pathetic this is.”
Newsweek reached out to the Allred marketing campaign through electronic mail for remark.
Plenty of Republicans have opposed Cruz, together with former Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, who endorsed Allred final month.
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“I've known Ted Cruz for 20 years. And it's been clear—everybody who knows Ted Cruz, and I'm sure most of you in this room know Ted Cruz, nobody thinks Ted Cruz is a man of great honor,” Cheney mentioned.
“What Ted Cruz did after the 2020 election makes him clearly unfit for office. Ted Cruz, knowing—knowing that it was unconstitutional, knowing that Joe Biden had won the election, knowing that the election had been certified in every one of our states and that a legitimate slate of electors—that there were no contested slates of electors that were legitimate, knowing that, Ted Cruz put in place a proposal to reject many of those votes, to essentially reject the votes of millions of Americans, what would have been overturning the election. And he did that to please Donald Trump,” she mentioned, referring to Cruz's efforts to push Trump's baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
Cheney is the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney. Both father and daughter have endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris for president.
“My campaign is open and welcome to conservatives…and any Republican ready to turn the page on Ted Cruz,” Allred posted on X, previously Twitter, on Thursday.
Despite rising assist for Allred, polls nonetheless present Cruz marginally forward. A survey performed by ActiVote between September 5 and 30 put the incumbent Texas senator 5 factors forward. The ballot surveyed 400 seemingly voters and had a margin of error of +/- 4.9 p.c.
Another ballot, performed by Public Policy Polling between September 25 and 26, put Cruz forward by just one level. The ballot surveyed 759 registered voters and had a margin of error of +/- 3.5 p.c.
Meanwhile, a ballot performed by Morning Consult between September 9 and 18 confirmed that for the primary time, Allred was 1 level forward of Cruz, 45 p.c to his 44 p.c amongst 2,716 seemingly voters. His lead was inside the ballot's margin of error of +/- 2 share factors.
“For the first time in this race, a new poll has us leading Ted Cruz by 1 point. I don't know about y'all but I'm fired up and ready to WIN! We've got 47 days, let's do this Texas,” Allred mentioned in a publish on X.
Since 1993, solely Republicans have represented Texas in the U.S. Senate. Cruz narrowly gained his final election six years in the past, beating challenger Beto O'Rourke by 2.6 p.c. It was the closest U.S. Senate race in Texas since 1978.
This yr's race might be equally as shut, in line with Brett Loyd, president and CEO of polling firm The Bullfinch Group, who beforehand instructed Newsweek that the state is anyone's to win.
“The Texas Senate race is a toss-up. It should have always been considered a toss-up. That is not to say Cruz will lose, but the race should be looked at as anyone's game,” he mentioned.
Cook Political Report has labeled the Texas Senate race as “lean Republican.” It was beforehand labeled as “likely Republican” for a lot of the 2024 election cycle.
RealClearPolitics' polling tracker places Cruz on common 5 factors forward of Allred.
Amid the tight race, which might decide who controls the Senate in 2025, the Democrats are spending hundreds of thousands to carry onto their majority.
Allred has raised about $38.4 million so far, in line with information from the Federal Elections Commission. Cruz's marketing campaign has raised $59.6 million.
Senator Gary Peters, chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, mentioned at a National Press Club look on September 26 that his social gathering was making a “multimillion-dollar investment” in TV promoting in a bid to win Senate races in Texas and Florida. He didn't specify how a lot can be spent.
The Democrats have a wafer-thin Senate majority, with 51 senators aligned with the social gathering versus 49 with the Republicans. Republicans should safe solely two extra seats in November to achieve a Senate majority when the brand new Congress convenes subsequent yr. They are anticipated to win one seat in West Virginia.
Meanwhile, the Democrats must win one extra seat. DecisionDeskHQ has predicted that the Republicans have a 55 p.c likelihood of taking management of Congress.
Update 10/5/2024 6:19 a.m. ET: This article has been up to date with remark from the Cruz marketing campaign.
