Ted Cruz, Colin Allred clash on abortion, border, transgender rights in US Senate debate

Incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz faced off against challenger Democratic Rep. Colin Allred in a passionate and at times acrimonious debate hosted by ABC affiliate WFAA in Dallas, Texas, Tuesday night that touched upon a variety of issues animating the closely-watched race.

Cruz, a staunch conservative and supporter of former President Donald Trump who is running for a third term, is locked in a tight race with Allred, a former NFL linebacker on his third term in the House of Representatives. Cruz leads Allred by just 4 percentage points, according to 538's Senate polling average for Texas as of Tuesday night.

Cruz's fundraising has far outpaced Allred's, however, so has his support from outside groups spending money on the race, according to an analysis by OpenSecrets. Democrats are trying to keep Texas in play, including with a fundraising push announced in late September, although they have not won a statewide race in Texas in decades.

Cruz was asked by the moderators where he stands on the issue of abortion, given the state of Texas' strict abortion ban and his previous support for a bill in Congress that would have exceptions for rape and incest – and more recent comments supporting Texas' law.

"Abortion is an issue that many Texans, many Americans, care deeply about, and it's an issue that people of good faith can disagree… I agree with the United States Supreme Court that under our Constitution, the way we resolve questions like that, questions on which we have real and genuine disagreements, is at the ballot box, is voting, and that's why the state of the law now is that the legislature in Austin sets the laws in Texas," Cruz said.

Cruz added that there is "consensus" in Texas on issues such as parental consent before their dependents can get an abortion; and then swiped at Allred: "He's voted in favor of striking down Texas' law and legalizing abortion up to and including the eighth and ninth month of pregnancy. That's extreme, and it's not where the people of Texas are."

"Listen, it's time to finally tell the truth here. Sen. Cruz just looked into a camera and lied to Texans about my position," Allred said, as he pivoted to referencing the stories of Kate Cox and Amanda Zurawski, both of whom received national attention for their challenges getting abortion care because of Texas' strict law.

"Let's be very clear. You should look into the camera and speak to Kate Cox, who's watching right now, and explain to her why you said that this law that you said is perfectly reasonable, why she was forced to leave her two children behind and flee our state to get the care that she needed."

Allred framed his own position as moderate: "When I'm the United States Senate, we'll restore a woman's right to choose. We'll make Roe v. Wade the law of the land again, and we'll make these stories of seeing these horrific experiences going on all over our state something of the past."

Asked directly if he supports or opposes exceptions for rape or incest, Cruz criticized Allred again on his voting record on related issues, and then added, "Now, as for what the law should be in Texas, that's a decision that will be made by the state legislature. You know, Congressman Allred is running all sorts of ads saying that I made this decision.

"I don't serve in the state legislature. I'm not the governor. The folks that make the laws here are the state legislature, the governor. He knows that, but he's trying to deceive the voters of Texas."

On border security and immigration, the moderators asked Allred why he had previously criticized Trump's plans for expanding the border wall but supported President Joe Biden's plan to add to the border wall. Allred pointed to his own family history, including his grandfather's work as a customs agent, as to why he knows the border is a serious issue, and criticized Cruz for treating the issue in a showy way and for not supporting the bipartisan border bill that has failed to advance in the Senate.

"He's never there for us when we need him. When the lights went out in the energy capital of the world, he went to Cancun; on January 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. We don't have to have a Senator like this," Allred said, referencing past criticisms of Cruz as well.

Allred also emphasized that he believes in "physical barriers" as part of a strategy for securing the border, in addition to other provisions he supported in the border bill.

Cruz, in response, hit back by drawing more attention to comments Allred made in the past criticizing the right-wing's focus on border issues: "I want to note once again, in his entire answer, Congressman Allred made zero reference to anything he's actually done in office ... Congressman Allred has said publicly, 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."

Cruz also added, "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 45 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. " (According to PolitiFact, during Trump's term in office, border apprehensions sunk to a 45-year-low in 2017 but rose again the next year.)

Allred responded, "Listen, what I've always said is that we have to make sure that as we're talking about border security, that we don't fall into demonizing and you can take something out of context from seven years ago, which is what he's trying to do, but he doesn't want to talk about what he said this year, which is that we don't need a border bill."

Cruz responded by saying that Allred didn't address the lowest level of illegal immigration claims and "didn't address the fact that it didn't take a bill for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and Colin Allred to break the border. It took a president refusing to enforce the law."

Cruz and Allred also clashed over discussions about foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, affordable housing, the economy and in-vitro fertilization.

One topic the moderators brought up was transgender rights, given that Cruz and groups supporting him have begun running advertisements alleging that Allred supports positions such as allowing boys to play in girls' sports.

"You don't have to be a former NFL linebacker to recognize a Hail Mary when you see one -- this is a desperate last-second attempt by Senator Cruz to distract you because he can't defend his own record," Allred responded.

"Listen, I'm a dad. I'm a Christian. Of course, I don't support these ridiculous things that he's talking about, but what he wants you thinking about is kids in bathrooms, so you're not thinking about women in hospitals, because it's indefensible."

The Advocate recently reported that LGBTQ advocacy groups have criticized or questioned Allred for this line of defense, saying that he is himself leaning into anti-transgender language.

"He has come out for men playing in women's sports, for boys playing in girls' 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 in girls' bathrooms and their locker rooms and their changing rooms. He voted for it," Cruz alleged afterward.

"I don't support boys playing girls' sports. … What I think is that folks should not be discriminated against, and what Senator Cruz should try to explain to you is why he thinks they should," Allred said, later adding that the Equality Act, which passed in the U.S. House in 2022, had bipartisan support and was about non-discrimination.

The moderators asked Cruz about what he would say to parents of transgender youth who say those advertisements are dangerous toward them.

"Look, we should protect every child, and we should protect every person. I have advocated protecting the safety of every child, of every person, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, sexual identity. Everyone deserves to be protected against violent crime, against discrimination. But Congressman Allred hasn't said that. He hasn't voted for that."

Despite the acrimony they leveled at each other during the debate, the candidates did shake each other's hands at both the start and end of the debate, and the moderators thanked them for a "spirited, and animated, and respectful debate."