US Rep. Colin Allred launched the Tejanos for Allred coalition on Sept. 18 and criticized Sen. Ted Cruz for treating the border as “some kind of a safari.” (Photo via screen capture)
Colin Allred knocks Ted Cruz for treating border communities like ‘a safari.’
As polls show a razor-tight US Senate race between Rep. Colin Allred and Sen. Ted Cruz, the Dallas Democrat doubled-down on building support among voters where he already enjoys a wide lead — Latinos.
Allred is beating Cruz by 20 points — 51% to 31% — among Latino voters, according to a new pool from UnidosUS, which describes itself as the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization. That gap comes as Latinos are increasingly flexing their political muscle with more than 1 in 4 Latinos in Texas, or 26%, saying they will vote for the first time in the Nov. 5 election, UnidosUS found in its poll.
Allred leaned into support from Latinos on Wednesday when he launched the Tejanos for Allred coalition, highlighting support from Latino elected officials and candidates across the state. A day earlier, Allred announced the campaign’s Black Texans for Allred coalition.
During the virtual Tejanos for Allred event, he criticized Cruz for blocking efforts to fix the immigration system and fund more security and resources for the border.
“I get so annoyed when I see folks like Ted Cruz use our border communities like they’re on some kind of a safari,” Allred said. “They’re coming down, put on their, you know, outdoor clothes and they’re going to point out problems, but never be a part of the solutions. That is not what folks in our border communities need, it’s not what we need here in Texas.”
Immigration is third among top priorities for Latino voters in Texas, behind inflation and jobs, according to the UnidosUS poll. They strongly favor a path to citizenship for immigrants long-residing in the US and cracking down on human and drug trafficking, but reject mass deportation plans like the calls from former President Donald Trump to deport millions of people by invoking wartime powers and using the military.
“While some may be trying to divide Texans on issues like immigration, Latinos believe in a balanced approach that advances legality, particularly for those deeply rooted in our communities, and punishes traffickers and smugglers preying on people’s desperation,” Eric Holguin, UnidosUS’s Texas state director, said in announcing the poll results.
Earlier this year, Cruz was among Republican lawmakers who blocked a bipartisan border bill after Trump objected to it. The bill offered $20 billion for border security and immigration reform. Cruz criticized the measure as “political cover” for Democrats to claim they addressed border issues.
Allred said at the campaign event that the bill would create “a secure and more stable border,” while providing funding for more immigration judges, more personnel for US Customs and Border Protection and additional efforts to keep fentanyl from being smuggled into the country.
“Ted Cruz said no, not because he disagreed with the policy — I think he probably overall agreed with it — but because he wanted to have the problem to run on in November and that is just unacceptable for us as Texans to treat our border communities that way,” Allred said.
Allred and Cruz meet for a debate on Oct. 15 in Dallas.
UnidosUS conducted the bilingual survey of 3,000 registered or eligible Latino voters either online or through phone interviews between Aug. 5 and Aug. 23. The results were released on Sept. 17.
