Ted Cruz successfully defended his seat against Democratic Rep. Colin Allred based on the incumbent’s competitive showing in the state’s large population centers, bolstered by his overwhelming leads in more conservative rural areas across the state.

U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, a former NFL linebacker and civil rights lawyer from Dallas, repeatedly broke fundraising records in his campaign, raising more than $80 million by mid-October.

Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has won reelection in Texas to a third term after a campaign in which he criticized his Democratic challenger as too liberal.

Cruz retained his seat, beating back Colin Allred and keeping alive Texas’ streak of not electing a Democratic Senator in more than 30 years.

In keeping his seat, he dashed rising hopes among some Democrats that years of demographic changes and urbanization could start to flip the state.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) secured a third term in the upper chamber on Tuesday by knocking off Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) in one of the most expensive races on the 2024 map, depriving Democrats of their best pickup opportunity in the process,