Colin Allred receives multimillion-dollar boost in fight against Ted Cruz

Colin Allred, the Democrat challenging Ted Cruz's Senate seat in Texas, has received a multimillion-dollar investment from Senate Democrats.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee announced Thursday that it is spending millions on television advertising for the Senate races in Texas and Florida.

“Senate Democrats are expanding the map and going on the offensive,” Sen. Gary Peters, chairman of the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee, said in the statement.

“Throughout the cycle, the DSCC has been preparing to exploit Sens. Cruz and Scott’s damaged position in their states – and now our efforts are gaining momentum in Texas and Florida. Democrats have strong candidates running effective campaigns in both states, and we are escalating.” “With our communications against Sens. Cruz and Scott, we will solidify the case against them.”

The DSCC did not provide exact information about how much money was invested in ads in each state.

The late-cycle investment shows that Democrats are taking the surprisingly close race in Texas seriously.

Both the Texas and Florida Senate seats were targets for the party to maintain its slim majority.

Polls from the state in September showed Cruz ahead by two to five points, according to poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight. A recent Morning Consult poll showed Allred with a one-point lead for the first time.

Cruz has held the Republican state Senate seat in Texas since 2013 and is now running for a third term.

He last won the seat in 2018 by a margin of just 2.6 percent against Democrat Beto O'Rourke, which at the time was the closest Senate race in Texas in decades.

Newsweek I reached out to Allred and Cruz's offices via email outside of regular work hours.

In a post on Full Time Podcaster.”

Allred referenced Cruz's podcast: Verdict with Ted Cruzwhich has been the subject of an ethics debate over concerns that it violates rules prohibiting lobbyists from giving gifts to senators.

“Colin Allred has received broad support from Texans, and our campaign has gained significant momentum,” Paige Hutchinson, Allred’s campaign manager, said in a statement The Texas Tribune.

“Ted Cruz is weaker and more vulnerable than ever because of his failure to secure the border, his extreme abortion ban that has put women at risk, his efforts to cut Social Security and Medicare, and because he only ever looks out for himself respected.”