Rep. Colin Allred faced criticism from within his party over his campaign strategy against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.
August polling data shows Cruz (R-TX) leading within the margin of error in the highly anticipated U.S. Senate race. Allred (D-TX) is focusing his campaign on moderate voters as he attempts to backtrack on his border security record and distance himself from the Biden administration, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Jen Ramos of the Texas Democratic Party’s governing executive committee told The Texas Tribune that Allred’s campaign needs to better energize Texas’ Democratic Party base.
“I’m going to vote for him as the nominee but don’t really feel compelled to do anything else for him,” she said.
“It’s very much taking advantage of a base that exists,” she continued. “The opportunity to mobilize and engage a base is there, but the fact that he hasn’t done so, it just feels short-sighted.”
Cruz won his 2018 reelection campaign by less than three percentage points against Beto O’Rourke, who rallied historic fundraising numbers in Texas. A former O’Rourke campaign staffer criticized Allred’s campaign strategy, which she argued should better organize left-leaning voters.
“There’s tremendous enthusiasm among young voters, women voters, and Black voters due to Kamala’s campaign,” Ginny Goldman, a senior adviser for O’Rourke’s 2018 campaign, told The Texas Tribune. “We’d love to see Colin barnstorming in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, and East Texas and embracing the messaging that fires up folks who would otherwise sit home in November. There’s no benefit to focusing on the illusive swing voter.”
David Wysong, who headed O’Rourke’s campaign, defended Allred’s strategy.
“Those are calculations you make,” he told The Texas Tribune. “We made a calculation of trying to turn out as many Democrats as humanly possible who typically didn’t vote, and they’re playing more to moderates. … They’re certainly going to have to outperform the presidential [ticket], so that undoubtedly is going to involve persuasion.”
Cruz compared O’Rourke and Allred in a campaign speech last week, noting he senses less enthusiasm from Democrats this election.
“Beto O’Rourke and Colin Allred are very different candidates,” the senator said. “Beto O’Rourke was charismatic. He was tireless. He campaigned all over the state, and he became a phenom. He went viral. Colin Allred, by contrast, is running a Joe Biden basement campaign.”
However, Allred’s campaign posted strong fundraising numbers, outpacing O’Rourke’s 2018 donations, according to The Texas Tribune.
Paige Hutchinson, Allred’s campaign manager, dismissed criticisms of the Democratic congressman.
“In the last six years, Ted Cruz has made himself more vulnerable than ever,” she told The Texas Tribune. “By championing a statewide abortion ban that forces women to flee their state for lifesaving health care, abandoning Texans during a statewide freeze for a Cancun vacation and voting no on capping insulin costs — Texans know they can’t count on Ted Cruz.”
Allred faced criticism for his previous praise of Dr. Omar Suleiman, an imam who called Israel a “terrorist regime” and warned that “the beginning of the end of Zionism is here,” as first reported by DX.