Voters weigh in on Cruz-Allred contest – Houston Public Media

Adam Zuvanich/Houston Public Media

Early voting is underway in the US Senate race between Republican incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz and his Democratic challenger, Congressman Colin Allred. Reporters around Cruz’s hometown of Houston and Allred’s congressional seat of Dallas asked voters what they think of the candidates and which issues matter most to them.

Greater Houston

If there’s a common theme in why some Houston-area voters cast their ballots for Sen. Ted Cruz, it’s immigration and border security. That’s the message from Republican voters at West Houston’s Trini Mendenhall Community Center.

“The important thing he’s talked about is the limit,” David Bracken said. “We’ve got so many illegals coming over here trying to take over our country and he’s fighting and whatever’s red — what’s his name, the other guy trying to take his place? No.”

Sharon Kane, who used to live along the Texas-Mexico border, also considers border security her biggest concern. But she added that Allred’s ads attacking Cruz’s stance on abortion got on her nerves.

“The Supreme Court brought the abortion issue back to the states, and Cruz is in the Senate, the federal Senate,” Kane said. “So how could he necessarily control what the state legislature did? So I think that’s a false narrative there.”

Kane added that she did not trust Allred because of his voting record. “I don’t think Allred has been very truthful about a lot of things he’s done,” she said. “He’s voted with (former House Speaker Nancy) Pelosi 100% of the time. And I’m opposed to so much of what the Democrats have been pushing.”

For Kelly Holmes, supporting Cruz came down to a simple question of partisanship. “I think he’s been a good supporter of (former President Donald) Trump because I think everything has been weaponized against Trump,” Holmes said. “I know he’s not everyone’s favorite flavor, but…I like him for Texas. I like that he’s a conservative.”

Jason McClure, at the Tom Reid Library in Pearland, south of Houston, said one of the main factors that swayed his vote for Cruz was the senator’s ads attacking Allred’s record of voting for transgender rights.

“Some of the things I heard about Allred — and I believe what I’m hearing from the Cruz campaign about transgender this, that and the other, and him being pro-men in girls’ sports, I’m not for that,” McClure said . “If I knew there was a biological male on my daughter’s sports team or whatever, I’d throw a fit.”

Reid Library voter Gabriel Jackson said he was suspicious of Allred’s record, and he questioned where Allred got his funding. “I’m not a big fan of Cruz either,” Jackson said. “I think he’s pompous. I’m right in the middle, but I know what Colin Allred is capable of doing with voting, so (voting for Cruz) was an easy decision for me.”

But for others, it was Cruz who was too extreme. Keith Davis was the rare pro-Allred voter at West Houston’s Trini Mendenhall Community Center. “We need new leadership,” Davis said. “As many people leave (Texas as) come. And that should say something. Texans like myself, born and raised in Texas, should stay and should grow here in Texas. That’s not happening.”

Natalie Weber / Houston Public Media

Vijay Kane, speaking at a Diwali party in Sugar Land, southwest of Houston, didn’t sound particularly enthused about Allred’s record. But he felt that Cruz lacked a mind of his own. “He’s just rubber-stamping everything Trump does,” Vijay Kane said. “The man is a brilliant man, highly educated, and some of the things that come out of his mouth, I wonder, did this man really go to law school?”

And while some Houston voters are willing to buy Cruz’s arguments that abortion is a decision for the state legislature, others recall the senator’s record of votes and speeches that stretch back long before the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

“I think he’s just a waste,” said Yolanda Brown, who voted at Pearland’s Tom Reid Library. “It’s more than just abortion. Reproductive rights — we have women out here dying, especially black women. I just think it’s so wrong.”

There are plenty of voters who still hold Cruz’s actions during Winter Storm Uri against him, such as Nicole and Michael McCarthy, who voted at the BakerRipley Center in Houston’s East End.

“I just don’t think Ted Cruz has the best interest of any Texan. I think Ted Cruz is running for Ted Cruz. And frankly, I know that’s what, three years ago, he took to Cancun during ‘Snowvid,’ but that really says a lot,” said Nicole McCarthy.

“We still remember freezing in our apartment and seeing pictures of Ted Cruz going to Cancun,” Michael McCarthy said. “I know there are bigger issues at stake, but I just don’t think he’s a leader for Texas.”

Cassandra Combre, who voted at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston’s Third Ward, sounded a similar tone. “First of all, when I’m freezing, don’t go to Cancun and act like you really have my best interests at heart, which personally,” Combre said, “I don’t feel like you really do.”

Fellow Wheeler Avenue voter Linda McGee said the top issues for her are abortion, voting rights and immigration. She had a simple message for Cruz: “Go home. That’s what I want to see him do. Go home and stay home. He hates women. He hates minorities. I don’t agree with anything, none of his politics .”

Dallas-Fort Worth

Dallas voters who said they supported Allred brought up consistent character and a desire for more cross-party cooperation among lawmakers in Washington.

Kate Cavanaugh lives in Highland Park. The day of the lone debate between Cruz and Allred, she was shopping at a Trader Joe’s right by Hillcrest High School, Allred’s alma mater.

Cavanaugh says a perfect candidate for her would have “a breadth and breadth of character that includes decency, honesty.”

Something she said she didn’t see in Ted Cruz.

“No one is perfect, and anyone who is not characterized by character assassination, and who is not characterized by dehumanization, and who is not characterized by self-serving decisions masked by political decisions,” Cavanaugh said.

Zach Thomas was inside the store shopping for groceries and had the same thoughts. And like some people in Houston, he also brought up the 2021 winter storm.

“We’re fine with Ted Cruz. Colin Allred is where it’s at,” Thomas said. “You don’t leave your state in a state of panic. He’s been in office for over a decade and has nothing to show for it.”

Colleen Logan was on her way to a hair salon a few shops over. She also said she voted for Allred.

“I’ve known Colin Allred since he’s been a football player. He’s always, from my perspective, been a man of values, a man committed to, again, lifting people up, not tearing them down,” Logan said .

But of course having a candidate from the city you call home doesn’t make up for party loyalty. Take Frank Campise. He is a Republican voter who cast his ballot for Cruz earlier this week at the Lochwood Library in East Dallas. Campise likes Cruz’s tough stance on the border, his main issue in this election.

“My grandfather came to this country from Italy, so I understand that, but there is a process and I think you have to go through that process,” Campise said. “You just can’t just open the door because you don’t know what’s coming in. But I’m all for people coming into the country the right way.”

Maddie Sepcic, a Republican who was shopping near Hillcrest High, said she planned to vote for Cruz and hadn’t even heard of Colin Allred.

“For me, it’s just always been easiest — because I lean more to that side, and I believe that more of their interests align with mine — that it’s just easier for me to just go in and out and vote all Republicans.”

Celia Naples, who said she had been a Dallas resident for 12 years, also voted in East Dallas and cast her ballot for Allred.

“He’s been my (U.S. House) Rep. and he’s a great, great guy. He works really hard. He works across the aisle. I don’t think we could ask for a better senator,” Napoli said.

When it came to more specific issues, Jaime Rodriguez said the most important issue for him was abortion.

“Well, I have a daughter, so I’m aware of the changes in abortion,” Rodriguez said. “I think the other thing that America needs is to change the policy back to being more collaborative. It’s okay to disagree, but we don’t really have to be us (relative to) them, we really are all one country.”

Regardless of who wins, Cruz voter Frank Campise had this closing thought.

“I wish there were better candidates on both sides. I think that’s really what it’s all about,” Campise said.

Of course, this is just a sample of Dallas and Houston voters. In 2020, more than 11 million Texans cast ballots, and polls show Cruz in the lead.