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Colin Allred scores debate points against Ted Cruz while dancing around pro-trans stances

Even some Republicans thought Allred won his Texas Senate debate against Cruz.
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Colin Allred (L) and Ted Cruz (R)
Colin Allred (L) and Ted Cruz (R) Photo: Jasper Colt/USA TODAY and Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) faced off in a debate for the Texas Senate race – the only one of its kind. Viewers had mixed feelings on the debate, but the general consensus emerged that Allred demolished Cruz.

The two clashed over issues ranging from immigration and abortion to transgender rights. Cruz continued to parrot far-right talking points, while Allred played a more centrist position for issues like LGBTQ+ rights, alienating some LGBTQ+ viewers who pointed out parallels between his statements and a recent campaign ad where he railed against “boys in girls’ sports.”

Related:

Dem releases “ill-advised” dog whistle ad against trans student athletes

Texas U.S. Rep. Colin Allred said, “I don’t want boys playing girls’ sports.” But polls show most voters don’t care about the issue.

During the debate, Cruz accused Allred of supporting “allowing boys to play in girls’ sports,” a crude and misgendered reference to trans girls’ participation on girls’ sports teams.

Allred responded, “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.”

“Listen, I’m a dad. I’m a Christian. Of course, I don’t support these ridiculous things that he’s talking about, but what he wants you thinking about is kids in bathrooms, so you’re not thinking about women in hospitals, because it’s indefensible,” Allred added, referencing his earlier comment that Cruz’s support of abortion restrictions have caused doctors to refuse life-saving care to pregnant women.

Trans journalist Erin Reed wrote of Allred’s response on X, “Allred’s response to the trans question just now in the debate was not great. ‘Clearly spell out how you feel about the transgender sports issue.’ ‘I don’t support boys playing girls sports, but look,’”

“It was some back and forth, Cruz flopped a bit too by citing Imane Khelif as a ‘man in boxing’ but Allred was pressured and flustered. He tried to deflect but his earlier ad made it harder,” Reed added.

Allred attempted to avoid trans issues as much as possible. When prompted about trans inclusion in teen sports, he said, “When Ted Cruz starts talking about teen sports, you gotta watch out because the only position he ever played was left out. I’m not trying to be mean, senator, but sit this one out please.”

As a whole, Allred was dismissive about trans rights throughout the debate. After responding to Cruz’s accusation about trans athletes, Allred quickly transitioned into a discussion about abortion.

“All of a sudden, the Protector of Women and Girls, is gonna be Senator Cruz Ted Cruz, who thinks its personally reasonable if a girl is raped by a relative of hers, is a victim of incest, has to give birth to it,” Allred said before going on to criticize Cruz’s voting record.

Nevertheless, the consensus on trans issues is that Cruz is much worse than Allred, although Reed feels that Allred’s rhetoric could create a dangerous pipeline for other Democratic candidates.

“As expected, too, Cruz cited his vote on the ‘Save Women’s Sports Bill’ and the Equality Act. Ugly. Gross. Dehumanizing for trans people in the state. And the defense was not great from Allred, and Cruz just was flatly transphobic,” continued Reed.

Cruz cited Allred’s voting record, incredulously talking about the Equality Act, federal legislation that would enshrine anti-discrimination protections for trans people. Cruz argued that it would have allowed for “men playing in women’s sports,” even though the law merely adds gender identity to pre-existing civil rights laws that prohibit sex-based discrimination in public accommodations.

Cruz stated that the Equality Act would allow “boys to be able to go in girls’ bathrooms,” but the legislation would allow no such thing. Instead, it would allow trans women to enter women’s bathrooms because they are women.

Cruz also criticized Allred for voting against anti-trans bills that would have eliminated trans women from women’s sports. He further attacked Allred for supporting House Resolution 269, or the Transgender Bill of Rights, which makes only brief mention of sports and instead focuses on protecting trans people from discrimination.

Cruz concluded by attacking Allred for opposing bans on gender-affirming care for minors and drag shows for those in the military. Allred defended these decisions by stating that he merely opposes discrimination. He then went back to attacking Cruz’s attempt to use the votes as a distraction.

This back and forth is mirrored for other issues.

Allred attacked Cruz’s record on in-vitro fertilization (IVF), a method of child conception used by many LGBTQ+ individuals.

“IVF didn’t need protecting until he got his way of going after it,” Allred said. “No one was thinking that we need to protect IVF, until he was singularly responsible for pursuing and putting in judges at the district court level and the circuit court level and the Supreme Court level at those who put at risk this technology… I will always protect IVF,” Allred said, while talking about Cruz’s support for the Personhood Amendment, which heavily restricts IVF.

Cruz denied supporting this amendment. In 2016, the anti-abortion organization Georgia Right to Life endorsed Cruz after he pledged to support a “personhood” amendment to the Constitution that would define fertilized eggs as humans who deserve legal protections against murder, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Allred hammered in on Cruz’s opposition to abortion rights too.

“Senator Cruz just called himself pro-life. You’re not. It’s not pro-life to deny women care so long that they can’t have children anymore… To every Texas woman at home.. when he says he’s pro-life, he doesn’t mean yours,” Allred said.

Cruz, throughout the debate, also dodged the question of whether he supports abortions in instances of rape and incest. “I’m curious, why do you keep asking me that?” Cruz said to a debate moderator when prompted about abortion.

Numerous commenters on X said they felt Allred won the debate.

“Never seen a linebacker punt a senator before,” said George Conway, a conservative lawyer who has been involved with The Lincoln Project, a political action coalition of former Republicans who oppose former President Donald Trump.

“wow, @ColinAllredTX just destroyed @tedcruz in the debate tonight.  showed cruz has zero integrity, is not a principled conservative, and only looks out for himself.  Look forward to voting for Allred during early voting,” wrote Matthew Dowd, a former strategist for President George W. Bush.

Democratic pollster and strategist Matt McDermott wrote, “Colin Allred is having a remarkably effective debate against Ted Cruz. Just eviscerating his all hat and no cattle views on immigration.”

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