Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) secured a third term in the upper chamber on Tuesday by knocking off Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) in one of the most expensive races on the 2024 map, depriving Democrats of their best pickup opportunity in the process, according to a projection from Decision Desk HQ.
For the second cycle in a row, Cruz came under threat from Democrats who were trying to topple one of the major conservative figures in the GOP. Much of that came in the form of financial support for Allred, a former NFL player who flipped a GOP-held congressional district in 2018, as Cruz remains one of the foremost boogeymen to progressives.
The Dallas-based Allred raked in nearly $60 million through the end of September, giving him a significant financial advantage over the incumbent senator in one of the most expensive states to advertise in.
But in the end, it wasn’t enough as Texas kept up its reputation as a red state despite attempts by Democrats over the past decade to peel off support to eventually put it in their column and shake up the electoral map in the process. Cruz had won his 2018 race against then-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) by 2.5 percentage points.