Ted Cruz and Colin Allred face off in the only debate in the Texas Senate race

DALLAS (AP) — Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Rep. Colin Allred meet Tuesday night in the only debate of their Senate race in Texas, which could help determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.

Nationally, Democrats view Texas as one of their few potential chances to win the Senate this year, while much of their attention is focused on defending seats crucial to their narrow majority, including Montana, Ohio and West Virginia.

Cruz has urged Republicans to take Texas seriously as there are signs he is in another competitive race. The last time Cruz voted in 2018, he narrowly won re-election against challenger Beto O’Rourke.

The debate offers Allred, a three-term congressman from Dallas and former NFL linebacker, a chance to increase his profile among a broad Texas audience. Allred has made protecting abortion rights a centerpiece of his campaign and has sharply criticized the state’s abortion ban, which is one of the strictest in the country. Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to strip constitutional protections for abortion, the issue has been a winning issue for Democrats even in red states like Kentucky and Kansas.

Cruz, who quickly made a name for himself in the Senate as a hard-line conservative and ran for president in 2016, has reshaped his campaign to focus on his legislative performance. He portrays his opponent as too liberal. Allred has since tried to show moderate credibility and is supported by former Republican US representatives Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney.

The two candidates alone have raised nearly $100 million, according to the Federal Election Commission’s most recent reports. Tens of millions of dollars more have been spent by outside groups, making it one of the most expensive races in the country.

Despite Texas’ reputation as a deep red state and Democrats’ 30-year statewide drought, the party has become increasingly optimistic in recent years that it can win here.

Since former President Barack Obama lost Texas by more than 15 percentage points in 2012, margins have steadily declined. Former President Donald Trump won by 9 percentage points in 2016 and by less than 6 percentage points four years later. It was the narrowest victory by a Republican presidential candidate in Texas since 1996.

“Texas is a red state,” said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University in Houston. “But it’s not a ruby ​​red state.”