Ted Cruz and Colin Allred agree to debate as their race for the US Senate attracts increasing attention

Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Democratic challenger Colin Allred, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Dallas, have agreed to a debate three weeks before the November 5 election.

There will be no audience at the debate on Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. at WFAA studios in downtown Dallas, according to an announcement Friday.

The moderators are Jason Whitely, senior political reporter for WFAA, and Gromer Jeffers Jr., political editor for the Dallas Morning News.

Tuesday night’s session will be broadcast live on TEGNA’s broadcast and digital platforms across the state.

“As this debate reaches Texans across the state, voters will have the opportunity to hear directly from the candidates about the issues that matter most to them,” Carolyn Mungo, WFAA vice president and station manager, said in a press release.

Cruz was a staunchly conservative politician during his two terms in the Senate, but in his bid for a third term, he emphasized his work in passing bipartisan measures such as the FAA reauthorization bill and stated that bringing jobs to the state was important to him.

He describes Allred as too liberal for Texas, especially on issues such as immigration and border security, linking the Democrat to what Cruz calls the misguided policies of President Joe Biden’s administration.

Allred has touted his ability to work with Republicans on bills like the bipartisan infrastructure bill that helped bring major projects to the state or the CHIPS and Science Act that steered billions of dollars in investment to manufacturing facilities in Texas.

Allred also strongly emphasized his support for abortion access, highlighting the stories of women who were denied medical care in emergency situations and criticizing Cruz for his support of abortion restrictions.

Recent polls suggest that Cruz and Allred are in a neck-and-neck race, with campaign spending expected to be high and national parties closely monitoring events.

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, recently told reporters that his top priority is to re-elect Democratic incumbents. After that, he said, Texas and Florida are the best chances to win Republican seats.

Peters acknowledged that Allred still has work to do to increase his name recognition among Texans, but said Cruz’s name recognition also brings with it many negative aspects.

He pointed to Cruz’s narrow victory in 2018, when he defeated Beto O’Rourke by 2.6 percentage points, and acknowledged Allred’s background as a star football player at Baylor University, his time in the NFL and his work as a civil rights attorney.

In a separate meeting with reporters in July, U.S. Senator Steve Daines of Montana, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said he was “very confident” that Republicans would win easily.

Cruz, he said, is in a good position, is taking the election campaign seriously and is running an aggressive campaign.

“This is exactly the kind of candidate you want for re-election of a senator,” Daines said.