Democrat Colin Allred Blew $77 Million on Failed Bid to Unseat Ted Cruz

Democrat Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) wasted tens of millions of dollars trying to swipe Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) Senate seat. 

The three-term congressman spent a whopping $77.5 million on his failed Senate campaign after raising $80 million, Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show. In comparison, Cruz — who won the race 53.1 percent to 44.5 percent — raised $86 million and spent $76.9 million.

The Texas Senate race ended up being the most expensive Senate race in the 2024 election cycle, according to data compiled by Open Secrets. 

A total of $165.5 million was raised and $153.5 million was spent between both candidates, and that surpassed the second-most expensive Senate race this cycle in Ohio by $38 million. These figures do not include outside spending.

The Houston Chronicle pointed out that while Ohio and Montana were considered “the hottest races in the nation, Texas surpassed them financially because of television advertising in the state with 20 media markets.” For example, running just one 30-second ad during a Dallas Cowboys game cost the Cruz campaign $171,000, according to the publication.

The Cruz-Allred race is dwarfed in comparison to the state’s most expensive race, which was the 2022 showdown between Democrat Beto O’Rourke and Gov. Greg Abbott at $227 million.

Nationally, the most expensive race in history was the race in 2022 between Sen. Ralphael Warnock (D-GA) and Republican Herschel Walker, with the candidates spending $255 million combined.

Cruz first won his Senate seat in 2012 against former state Rep. Paul Sadler by nearly 16 points. He won his reelection more narrowly in 2018 by 2.6 points against former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX). RealClearPolling predicted a Cruz win in 2024 by 4.4 points. 

Allred sought to do what no Democrat has done since 1994: win a statewide election in Texas. Democrats hoped to snag the Senate seat from Republicans to pad their current 51-49 majority. 

Republicans ultimately gained control of the Senate and had won 53 seats as of Friday evening, with results yet to be called in Arizona and Nevada. 

The Texas Senate race was one of eleven critical races to impact which party controls the U.S. Senate in the next Congress. The road to the GOP majority arguably began with defending both Cruz’s seat and the seat currently held by Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who won against his opponent former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL), Breitbart News’s Nick Gilbertson assessed. 

Allred largely focused his campaign on abortion, much like Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrats across the country. Cruz chose to focus his campaign largely on the floundering economy and porous southern border under the Biden-Harris administration. 

The border emerged as one of voters’ top concerns ahead of the 2024 presidential election as countless stories emerged of women and children being assaulted and murdered by violent criminals allowed into the United States by the Biden-Harris administration. 

The Texas Secretary of State reported a record 18.62 million registered voters in 2024 — five percent higher than the November 2022 number of 17.67 million. Approximately nine million ballots were cast during early voting statewide.