Colin Allred speaks at a Dallas campaign event over the weekend. Credit: Facebook / Colin Allred

Close. But, once again, no cigar.

Like fellow Democrat Beto O’Rourke six years ago, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred ginned up excitement about the prospect of unseating Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, then fell short.

In 2018, Cruz won by fewer than than 3 points. This time, the two-term incumbent won by nearly 10, landing at 53.5% when he declared victory shortly after 9 p.m.

Allred’s loss came despite a flood of Democratic money after his party determined Cruz’s was one of the few flippable Senate seats this cycle. In the end, the contest escalated into the nation’s priciest Senate race, pulling in a total of $165.5 million, according to government transparency watchdog Open Secrets.

Cruz’s acerbic personality and penchant for grandstanding have long made him unpopular with voters. He picked up more baggage with his efforts to halt the transfer of power to President Joe Biden following the 2020 election and his ill-timed flight to Cancun during Texas’ deadly winter story Uri.

Even so, both O’Rourke and Allred battled Cruz in a state that’s still solidly red, Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson said. No Democrat has won a statewide race here since 1994.

“I’ve described Ted Cruz a number of times as an acquired taste, even among Republicans,” Jillson said. “A lot of what we’ve seen both this cycle and in 2018 has more to do with Ted Cruz having limited appeal than it does Texans being ready to embrace Democrats in a statewide race.”

O’Rourke ran as a progressive and barnstormed the state, visiting every county at least once during his run. Allred, on the other hand, ran as a moderate, spending big on TV ads touting his background as a professional football player and accusing Cruz of being out for himself instead of regular Texans.

In staking out middle ground, Allred distanced himself from Vice President Kamala Harris until a late-in-the-campaign appearance with the Democratic presidential candidate in Houston.

“I think he calculated near the end of the race that he was going to need Kamala to help his numbers the urban centers,” Jillson said.

In the end, Allred performed well in those urban centers, including San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Houston and El Paso, but those weren’t enough to carry him in to victory amid a sea of red counties.

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