Key takeaways from the combative debate between Ted Cruz and Colin Allred

Republican Ted Cruz and Democrat Colin Allred shook hands to begin their debate Tuesday night, and then they took off their gloves. The U.S. Senate candidates attacked each other's positions and character as they argued about current issues such as abortion, immigration and the economy.

Here are some things that stood out:

PHOTOS: Representative Colin Allred and Senator Ted Cruz face off in debate in the US Senate

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Race to the middle

Allred wasted no time in addressing one of his key talking points, portraying himself in his opening statement as “the most bipartisan Texan in Congress” since being sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives in 2019. That makes him, he said, “the exact opposite.” ” by Cruz, whom he described as the most extreme senator in Washington.

Cruz positioned himself as an effective legislator, passing 101 bills, including bipartisan bills creating new interstate states, and Allred's three.

“It was Raphael Warnock and I,” he said of a bill with the Georgia Democrat to create a highway from Texas to the Atlantic. “A liberal democrat. Cruz Warnock. We passed it.”

Cruz also described himself as a strong supporter of in vitro fertilization and accused Senate Democrats of being “very cynical” in opposing his bill to protect IVF access. And while he strongly opposes allowing transgender girls in girls' sports, he said every child should be protected from harm or discrimination “regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation and sexual identity.”

Allred called Cruz a bipartisan who was “trying to change his image this election year.”

Since the beginning of his political career, Allred said he has reached across the aisle and found that 70% of the bills he co-sponsored had bipartisan support. He also cited the Jefferson Hamilton Prize for Bipartisanship he received from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“So there’s no question about that,” Allred told Cruz. “What is at issue is your recent transition to trying to be someone who actually wants to get things done rather than being bipartisan.”

Cruz linked Allred to Harris and himself to Trump

Cruz repeatedly linked Allred to the policies of President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, as he sought to portray his opponent as a radical Democrat whose positions are too extreme for Texas .

Allred and Harris, Cruz argued, not only had the same agenda, they were also indistinguishable from each other. Even Allred's debate style “reminded me of Kamala Harris in her debate,” Cruz said.

“I understand at home, Colin Allred is Kamala Harris,” Cruz said. “Their records are the same. I served with both. They have voted for open borders time and time again, and now they are desperately trying to hide this from voters.”

Cruz also highlighted his role alongside Donald Trump, saying he pushed the former president to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, encouraged him to pull out of a nuclear deal with Iran, and worked “hand in hand” with him to secure the southern border.

“We’ve had incredible success,” Cruz said. “We have reached the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris inherited this. It’s what Colin Allred inherited, and they intentionally broke it and opened the border, and Texas is paying the price.”

Recent polls have shown Trump running stronger than Cruz in Texas.

Allred escalated his attacks on Cruz's character

Allred has tried to turn the race into a referendum on Cruz's term in office, denouncing the senator as a “me guy” who is most interested in taking care of himself.

The Democrat took some of his harshest turns yet during the debate, saying the senator lied about Allred's record, just as he lied about fraud in the 2020 election. “You've seen him lie to you for 12 years,” said Allred, who also repeatedly mentioned Cruz's trip to Mexico during the 2021 winter storm.

He said Cruz was one of the most controversial senators in the country.

“He introduced this new way of anger management where you just piss people off and then do a podcast about it, write a book about it and make some money from it, but you're not really there when people need you,” Allred said . “When the lights went out, when 30 million Texans trusted a senator to take action, he traveled to Cancun. That’s him.”

Cruz has written several books sharply attacking Democrats. The most recent publishing agreement, reported on its financial disclosure forms, included a $1.1 million advance for two books.

Cruz has said he receives no money for his thrice-weekly podcast. Hundreds of thousands of advertising revenue from the podcast went to a pro-Cruz super PAC, an arrangement that critics say could violate campaign finance laws.

Cruz has defended the time and energy he puts into the podcast, saying it's important to bypass biased news outlets and tell people what's really happening in Washington.

Cruz also waxed lyrical during Tuesday night's debate as he focused on what he described as a glaring discrepancy between Allred's moderate rhetoric and an “extreme” voting record.

“Congressman Allred wants to destroy what we have in Texas because he shares the values ​​of Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris,” Cruz said in his closing statement.

The stage is set for a candidacy by Election Day

In a race already dominated by negative ads, Allred and Cruz's approach to the debate reflected where the campaigns are likely headed over the past three weeks.

Allred sought to capitalize on negative perceptions of Cruz while presenting himself as an acceptable alternative to independents and moderate Republicans who have grown weary of the incumbent.

For example, during a debate about illegal immigration and border security, he said Cruz had done nothing to address the situation.

“This is a pattern. He talks tough, but he never shows up,” Allred said. “There’s a phrase in Texas: All hat and no cattle. This is Senator Cruz.”

Allred signaled to right-leaning voters that it's OK to vote for a Democrat, noting that former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, endorsed him over Cruz.

Cruz tried to undermine such conversations by repeatedly citing specific votes Allred had made on immigration, abortion and LGBTQ rights that he said were too extreme for the state.

He said Allred's past support of positions taken by Democratic Party leaders like Pelosi shows he is not on the side of Texas oil and gas development.

“His words sound good, but his voting record — remember: In his first four years in the House, he voted 100% for Nancy Pelosi,” Cruz said. “He didn’t budge on a single vote, which meant he repeatedly voted against oil and gas and jobs in Texas.”