HOUSTON — Colin Allred highlighted his record as a bipartisan legislator and drew sharp policy contrasts between him and his opponent Ted Cruz as the two are locked in the race for U.S. Senate in Texas.
Allred sat down with KHOU 11 News in a one-on-one interview to discuss the state of the race with less than seven months to go until Election Day.
The Dallas-area Democratic congressman trails incumbent Republican Senator Ted Cruz 46 percent to 41 percent in a recent poll by the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation.
Allred is also outpacing Beto O’Rourke -- Ted Cruz’s last Senate race opponent -- in fundraising compared to the same period in 2018.
“I will be the opposite of how I see Ted Cruz who is serving in an incredibly divisive way that pits us against each other,” Allred said.
One of the top issues in the state and nationally is abortion.
There’s one thing I know about us as Texans, we believe in freedom and this is not it,” Allred said about the near-total ban on abortions in Texas following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Earlier this month, former President Donald Trump said he wanted to leave the issue up to the states following an Arizona Supreme Court decision that allowed a 19th-century abortion ban to go into effect in that state.
Allred said if he were elected to the U.S. Senate, he would want federal action.
“We have to restore this right,” Allred said. “The only way we can do that as I see it, is at the federal level by codifying Roe v. Wade by going back to the standard we’ve had for the last 50 years.”
Allred also rejected Ted Cruz’s accusation of Allred and Democrats being soft on border security.
“I don't know why Ted Cruz refuses to help us secure the border,” Allred said. “We had a chance with a bipartisan bill in the Senate.”
Allred was referencing a bipartisan border security bill that ultimately was blocked by Republicans following pressure from Trump to prevent its passage.
“I think it's because [Cruz] wants to be able to run on the issue,” Cruz said. “And to me, that has to be so outrageous to every Texan that we have a senator who would rather have a problem so he could talk about it for a campaign issue and try and solve it for the rest of us.”
In a recent interview with KHOU 11 News, Cruz cast himself as the better bipartisan candidate, highlighting his work with colleagues in the Senate.
“When I was at the NFL and we used to say, ‘check the tape,’ you know, the tape doesn't lie,” Allred, who played multiple seasons for the Tennessee Titans, said. “And Ted Cruz has 12 years of being the most hyper-partisan United States senator in the country.”
Allred touted his record in Congress, including recognition as one of the most bipartisan members on Capitol Hill and the most bipartisan member of the Texas delegation by the Common Ground Committee. This nonpartisan organization rates congressional members’ bipartisanship.
“I’m the exact opposite,” Allred said. “I will be an advocate for you even if you don't support me politically. That's the way I've served in my time in Congress. That's the way I hope to serve in the Senate.”
Watch KHOU 11 News' sit-down with Ted Cruz.