It’s a race to the finish line as U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, the incumbent Republican, and his Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, make their final cases to voters on why they should represent Texas in Washington for the next six years.
With just days until Election Day, Cruz and Allred seem to have shifted from changing voters' minds and focused on getting Texans to the polls.
“It seems like they're trying to talk to their own supporters and they're making sure that everyone who is likely to vote for them is voting,” Sean Theriault, a government professor at UT Austin, said. “They're just going around and talking to their supporters and [participating] in small local events.”
This week, Cruz has been hosting "Get Out the Vote" events in conservative-leaning Dallas suburbs, while Allred has had similar events focused on Democratic strongholds.
This end-of-campaign strategy kicked off last Friday, when Texas’ U.S. Senate candidates were on hand for visits from their respective party’s presidential candidates. Cruz was present Friday when President Donald Trump held a press conference in Austin before sitting down for a lengthy interview with popular podcast host Joe Rogan.
Later that evening, Allred joined Vice President Kamala Harris for a rally in Houston which also featured Willie Nelson and Beyoncé. During his speech, Allred made sure to let attendees know he’d be nothing like his Republican predecessor if elected to the U.S. Senate.
“I know you’re hoping that your elected officials are working as hard as you are. But Ted Cruz has been all about himself for too long, too long. Twelve years is long enough,” said Allred, referring to Cruz’s two previous terms in the Senate.
Cruz essentially made the same point to his supporters when visiting Coppell, Texas, on Saturday.
“There’s never been a divide as big between Senate candidates as between me and Colin Allred,” Cruz said.
Texas’ U.S. Senate candidates flood the airwaves
Beyond making sure their supporters actually get to the polls and cast a ballot, Cruz and Allred have ramped up what has already been a heavy rotation of campaign ads. Both released new commercials in the past week.
Part of why they can do this final push comes down to money — both have raised millions of dollars. In fact, their contest has officially become the country's most expensive U.S. Senate race this election cycle, according to the Houston Chronicle. Combined, Cruz and Allred have raised more than $160 million.
To put that in perspective, with at least $86 million raised, Cruz has brought in twice as much as the second highest-funded Republican Senate candidate. Allred’s $80 million puts him third amongst Democrats nationwide.
Theriault said these final ad pushes and campaign stops are about the best final pushes the candidates can do after a full year of campaigning.
“They're making sure that everyone who is likely to vote for them is voting,” Theriault said.
Overall, Theriault said it's an exciting time to be in Texas, especially given "what appears to be a closer Senate race than I think many of us thought it was going to be six months ago."
