Colin Allred Best Positioned to Defeat Ted Cruz

TO: Interested Parties and Stakeholders
FROM: Paige Hutchinson, Campaign Manager, Colin Allred for Senate
DATE: March 6, 2024
SUBJECT: Colin Allred Best Positioned to Defeat Ted Cruz

Colin Allred demonstrated his broad appeal across Texas on Tuesday, winning an outright majority in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, and heading into the general election with significant momentum to beat Ted Cruz.

Historic voting patterns and conventional wisdom held that Allred would be unable to hit 50% in the primary and would be forced into a runoff in a field of nine candidates, including other elected officials like State Senator Roland Gutierrez, State Rep. Carl Sherman and former Nueces County District Attorney Mark Gonzalez. But Allred was endorsed by every major newspaper that weighed in, with the Dallas Morning News writing that “he is the singular candidate who gives Democrats hope to unseat incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz.” Allred’s compelling personal story and commitment to standing up for Texans’ freedoms won over voters in every corner of the state, leading to an over 40-point primary victory.

Since launching his campaign for the U.S. Senate against Ted Cruz last year, Allred has set fundraising records – raising over $21.5 million through the March primary and garnering support from more than 220,000 individual donors, including contributions from 246 out of 254 Texas counties.

A fourth generation Texan, Allred is building the broad, diverse coalition it takes to win

Colin Allred has a uniquely Texas story. Born and raised in Dallas by a single mom who was a public school teacher and often worked two jobs to make ends meet, Allred earned a full-ride scholarship to play football at Baylor University. After playing 5 seasons as a linebacker in the NFL, he went to law school, practiced as a civil rights attorney, and then was elected to Congress in 2018.

Allred defeated GOP Rep. Pete Sessions, a 22-year incumbent and committee chair, by a resounding 6 points in a district evaluated by pundits as R+5. In 2020, he maintained his margin against a fully-funded, well-connected opponent. Allred has proven he can win tough races in a suburban swing district that mirrors key battleground counties in Texas.To win statewide, our campaign will replicate and scale how Allred was able to flip a seat in 2018: by building a broad, diverse coalition of support – and turning them out to vote.

Delivering real results for Texas families, not dividing us and inflaming culture wars

While Ted Cruz podcasts three times a week, sells books to inflame culture wars, and takes every opportunity to go on conservative media, Congressman Allred has remained focused on delivering for Texas families.

Named the most bipartisan member of the Texas Congressional delegation by the Common Ground Committee, Allred has shown he’s more focused on getting things done than playing politics. He’s partnered with Republicans on major bipartisan initiatives such as:

• Establishing a new VA Hospital in Garland and having a bipartisan bill signed into law to authorize construction of a new VA clinic in El Paso and Spinal Cord Injury center in Dallas

• Strengthening the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal

• Bringing $35 billion in investments to Texas through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

• Passing the CHIPS and Science Act to invest in Texas-made semiconductors

• Voting with Sen. John Cornyn to pass the first meaningful gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years

Raising the resources needed to mount a Texas-sized, winning campaign

Texas is home to 30 million people, spread across nearly 20 media markets, and Allred has proven he can raise the resources needed to communicate with Texans. Since launching his campaign, Allred has set fundraising records and outraised Ted Cruz in every quarter he’s been in the race.

• Over $21.5 million brought in since launch

• Donations from 246 of Texas’ 254 counties

• Donations from over 220,000 unique supporters

• Average donation is $34.41

• 93% of donations are under $100

Ted Cruz is beatable
After Allred’s launch last year, prognosticators increased Cruz’s chances of losing the race and since then polls show this race is tied.

The last time Cruz was up for re-election, he came within 2 points of losing. Since then, Cruz has incited a deadly insurrection, fled the state during a natural disaster that killed hundreds of Texans,  and celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Health care will be a major issue in the 2024 race and Cruz’s decade-long crusade to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, from 2013 up until now, will be front and center. Cruz’s plan would upend life for millions of Texans, raising costs and gutting protections for Texans with pre-existing conditions. In addition, Cruz is the author of a national abortion ban proposal. And as IVF procedures are put in jeopardy for thousands of women and their families, Ted Cruz will have to answer for blocking an effort to streamline passage of a federal bill protecting IVF and his support of a Personhood Amendment to the Constitution that would make health clinics and mothers criminally liable.

Onthe border, Cruz “touts his role in killing” the bipartisan bill in the Senate that would have brought billions of dollars to Texas to secure the border and help our overwhelmed border communities who are bearing the brunt of migrants coming to the country.

Texans can’t afford six more years of Ted Cruz in the Senate. As we kick off the general election, the Allred campaign remains confident that we are on a path to victory. As Colin said when he launched this campaign: we don’t have to be embarrassed by our Senator anymore. Next year, we will get a new one.