Republican incumbent Ted Cruz has declared victory against Democratic Rep. Colin Allred
Cruz leads Allred in the race for U.S. Senate, 52.3% to 45.8% with 62% of the voted counted, according to the Associated Press.
“Texas will remain Texas,” Cruz said as he addressed a crowd of supporters in a Houston hotel ballroom.
Cruz, of Houston, is a former Texas solicitor general seeking his third Senate term after first taking office in 2013. Allred, of Dallas, played professional football before becoming a civil rights attorney.
In Tarrant County, Cruz was up by about 2 percentage points. Cruz won 50.02% of the early votes in Tarrant County to Allred’s 48.09%, according to unofficial early voting numbers from the county.
Texas has two senators with six-year terms that come up for reelection on a staggered basis. Cruz was last up for reelection in 2018, when he narrowly beat Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat who previously represented El Paso in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The race has gotten national attention as Democrats try to maintain control of the U.S. Senate. Recent polls have showed Allred within about 4 points of Cruz on average.
Democrats, with the help of independents who vote with them, hold a narrow 51-49 majority in Washington’s upper chamber. Beyond Texas, Democrats are working to defend seats in Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Were Texas to flip in Democrats’ favor, they’d be one step closer to maintaining control.
Two screens on the either side of a stage broadcast Fox News as the network shared live election results from across the country.
Cheers erupted as Fox called the race for Cruz a little before 8:30 pm. Cruz had not addressed the crowd as of 8:50 p.m., but was expected to soon give remarks.
Before and as results were tallied, attendees were optimistic that Cruz would win Texas.
Elizabeth Crump of League City has supported him since 2016 when he ran for president.
“I know that he really, really cares for Texas and the United States,” she said.
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