DALLAS — Sen. Ted Cruz was squaring off with Democratic challenger Colin Allred in their first and only televised debate Tuesday night on WFAA.
And Cruz was entering the debate stage with a full-throated endorsement from former President Donald Trump.
Trump on Truth Social posted a lengthy endorsement of Cruz, saying he's endorsed the Texas senator "on numerous occasions, verbally" but wanted to have an endorsement "memorialized in writing."
"Ted is one of the strongest Senators in the Country on Border Security, whereas his Opponent, Colin Allred, is a Radical Open Border Extremist, who will put our Country, and Safety, LAST. Ted, on the other hand, will ALWAYS put Texas, and America, FIRST. Ted Cruz has my Complete and Total Endorsement - HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!"
Trump was famously critical of Cruz during their 2016 presidential primary election, but the two have since been staunch supporters of each other.
WFAA reached out to Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris' campaign to see if she had any comment about Allred ahead of Tuesday night's debate. But national Democrats have been clear about their support for Allred, sending a round of investments to Texas to help Allred unseat Cruz.
Allred was also among the speakers at the Democratic National Convention, urging voters to support Harris.
Allred has also received support from some prominent Republicans, both locally and nationally. Liz Cheney, the former Republican Congresswoman, sat down for a joint interview with Allred to endorse the Democrat in his race against Cruz. And at the local level, former Republican Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley recently spoke out about his support of Allred and Harris, voicing his displeasure with what he called "extreme far-right Republicans."
Cruz, for his part, has fired back at Republicans that have offered their support of Allred.
"There are a few people who used to be Republicans who've decided they can't stand Donald Trump and so they're voting for Kamala Harris," Cruz told WFAA. "We saw Liz Cheney come out and say she's voting for Kamala Harris. And I will say there are a handful of people for whom Trump derangement syndrome is a real thing."
