Incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz took on challenger Democratic Rep. Colin Allred on Tuesday night in a passionate and sometimes bitter debate hosted by ABC affiliate WFAA in Dallas, Texas.

Cruz, a staunch conservative and supporter of former President Donald Trump who is running for a third term, is in a tight race with Allred, a former NFL linebacker in his third term in the House. According to Tuesday night's Texas Senate polling average of 538, Cruz is ahead of Allred by just 4 percentage points.

However, according to an OpenSecrets analysis, Cruz has far raised more donations than Allred, as has his support from outside groups spending money on the race. Democrats are trying to keep Texas in the game, including with a fundraising campaign announced in late September, even though they haven't won a statewide race in Texas in decades.

Cruz was asked by the moderators where he stands on the issue of abortion, given the state of Texas' strict abortion ban and his previous support for a bill in Congress that would provide exceptions for rape and incest – and given recent comments supporting the Texas law .

“Abortion is an issue that is close to the hearts of many Texans and many Americans, and it is an issue that people can disagree with in good faith… I agree with the Supreme Court of the United States that under our Constitution the manner and “The way we resolve questions like this, asks questions about what we have real and real disagreements about, is at the ballot box, voting, and that's why it's now the legislature in Austin that sets the laws in Texas,” Cruz said.

Cruz added that there is “consensus” in Texas on issues such as parental consent before their relatives can have an abortion; and then he took a swipe at Allred: “He voted to repeal the Texas law and legalize abortion up to and including the eighth and ninth months of pregnancy. That’s extreme, and that’s not where people in Texas are.”

“Listen, it’s time to finally tell the truth here. “Senator Cruz just looked into the camera and lied to Texans about my position,” Allred said, referencing the stories of Kate Cox and Amanda Zurawski, both of whom had received national attention for their challenges with abortion care due to Texas’ strict law .

“To put it bluntly. You should look into the camera and talk to Kate Cox who is watching and explain to her why you said that this law that you said was completely reasonable, why she was forced to leave her two children behind and out of ours Fleeing the state to get the care she needed.”

Allred described his own position as moderate: “When I am the United States Senate, we will restore a woman's right to choose. We will Roe v. “Make Wade the law of the land again and we will make these stories to see that these terrible experiences become a thing of the past across our state.”

Asked directly whether he supported or opposed exceptions for rape or incest, Cruz again criticized Allred for his voting record on related issues, then added: “Now as far as the law in Texas, that's a decision that's made by him.” .” You know, Congressman Allred is running all sorts of ads saying I made this decision.

“I don’t sit in the state parliament. I'm not the governor. The people who make the laws here are the state legislature and the governor. He knows this, but he’s trying to deceive the voters of Texas.”

On the topic of border security and immigration, the moderators asked Allred why he previously criticized Trump's plans to expand the border wall but supported President Joe Biden's plan to expand the border wall. Pointing to his own family history, including his grandfather's work as a customs agent, Allred pointed to why he knew the border was a serious problem and criticized Cruz for treating the issue in a showy manner and the bipartisan border bill that did so, failed to advance into the Senate.

“He is never there for us when we need him. When the lights went out in the energy capital of the world, he went to Cancun; on Jan. 6, when a mob stormed the Capitol, he hid a supply closet. And when.” “The toughest border security bill in a generation was introduced in the US Senate, but it was rejected. We don’t need a senator like this,” Allred said, also referencing previous criticisms of Cruz.

Allred also emphasized that he also believes in “physical barriers” as part of a border security strategy, among other provisions he supports in the border law.

Cruz then hit back by drawing more attention to comments Allred has made in the past criticizing the right's focus on border issues: “I would like to note again that Congressman Allred did not express himself at all throughout his response was referring to something that he actually is.” done in office… Congressman Allred has said publicly: If you think border security is important, he thinks you're a racist. He calls the border wall, quote, that racist border wall, and he has promised to tear down that racist border wall personally.”

Cruz also added, “When Donald Trump was president, I worked hand-in-hand with President Trump to secure the border and we achieved incredible success. We have achieved the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years. That’s what Joe Biden and Kamala Harris inherited.” “It's what Colin Allred inherited, and they intentionally broke it and opened the border, and Texas is paying the price.” (According to PolitiFact, border concerns fell in 2017 to a 45-year low again the next year.)

Allred responded: “Listen, what I've always said is that we need to make sure that when we talk about border security, we don't fall into demonization and that you can take something out of the context of seven years ago.” That is “It's what he's trying to do, but he doesn't want to talk about what he said this year, which is that we don't need a border law.”

Cruz responded that Allred did not address the lowest level of illegal immigration applications and “did not address the fact that it did not take a bill for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Colin Allred to breach the border. It took a while.” President refuses to enforce the law.

Cruz and Allred also clashed over discussions of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, affordable housing, the economy and in vitro fertilization.

One topic the presenters touched on was transgender rights, as Cruz and groups that support him have begun running ads claiming Allred supports positions such as allowing boys to participate in girls' sports.

“You don't have to be a former NFL linebacker to recognize a Hail Mary when you see one – this is a desperate, last-second attempt by Senator Cruz to distract you because he can't defend his own record,” Allred responded.

“Listen, I’m a father. I am a Christian. Of course I don't support these ridiculous things he's talking about, but he wants you to think about children in toilets, so don't think about women in hospitals because it's unjustifiable.”

The advocate It was recently reported that LGBTQ advocacy groups have criticized or questioned Allred for this line of defense, saying he himself tends to use anti-transgender language.

“He stood up for men playing in women’s sports and boys playing in girls’ sports. He is a co-sponsor and voted for a bill called the Equality Act. The Equality Act requires boys to compete with girls.” “He voted for it,” Cruz claimed afterwards.

“I don’t support boys playing girls’ sports. … What I think is that people shouldn't be discriminated against, and Senator Cruz should try to explain to you why he thinks they should,” Allred said, later adding that it was the Equality Act , which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022, had bipartisan support and addressed nondiscrimination.

The moderators asked Cruz what he would say to parents of transgender youth who say these ads are dangerous for them.

“Look, we should protect every child, and we should protect every person. I am committed to protecting the safety of every child, every person, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation and sexual identity. Everyone deserves to be protected from violent crime.”, against discrimination. But Congressman Allred did not vote for it.

Despite the acrimony they showed each other during the debate, the candidates shook each other's hands at the beginning and end of the debate, and the moderators thanked them for a “lively, spirited and respectful debate.”