Keep the remote nearby so you can hit “mute” as needed.
Colin Allred
U.S. Senate Democrats are sending millions to Texas in a new round of investments to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee announced Thursday.
The DSCC will include Texas in a “multimillion dollar” push to fund television ads on behalf of U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, who is challenging Cruz. The investment will also target Sen. Rick Scott in Florida, the party’s other major flip target.
“Senate Democrats are expanding the map and going on offense,” DSCC Chair Sen. Gary Peters said in a statement. “All cycle long the DSCC has been preparing to take advantage of Sens. Cruz and Scott’s damaged standings in their states – and now our efforts in Texas and Florida are accelerating.”
The DSCC named Texas and Florida as its top flip targets earlier this cycle, including Texas in a $79 million ad reservation and funding staff in the state. But the group has so far put protecting its vulnerable incumbents at the top of its to-do list. Democrats need to defend several difficult seats this year in Republican or swing states to maintain their majority.
The investment is a critical sign of the national party’s support for a state whose Democrats have long languished on their own. The DSCC’s inclusion of Texas in its earlier ad reservations and staffing showed potential in Allred’s chances. A later-cycle investment like Thursday’s confirms the party remains committed and is taking Texas seriously — a shift from past cycles.
Texas’ Senate race is also likely to be one of the most expensive in the state’s history. Cruz predicted up to $100 million to $150 million being spent on the race.
The DSCC’s investment could also signal to other groups to put their money in the state. The Senate Majority PAC, the party’s primary super PAC for Senate race, has yet to announce any investments in Texas, though it could still send money as Election Day approaches.
A few thoughts…
– If I were in charge of these things, I’d have put some of this money in at the beginning of the race, to help with voter registration and build volunteer networks and design and execute ground strategies, that sort of thing. I’m sure spending a bunch of money on TV ads in the last few weeks of the campaign will have some effect – I’m not a campaign professional, I can’t tell you what the return on investment of either this strategy or the one I proposed is, but I don’t think it’s the most efficient or effective means available.
– One might also suggest that the Kamala Harris campaign get in on this act, if only to boost her chances of having a Senate with a Dem majority next year. Allred as we know has often run ahead of Harris in the Texas polls, with Cruz running behind Trump, so it’s reasonable to think that improving Harris’ performance would also benefit Allred. We got another poll with that dynamic this week; you have to read the poll’s executive summary to see the Presidential numbers. I continue to find all of this polling data a little weird and unexpected, and I won’t be surprised if in the end Harris outruns Allred and Cruz outruns Trump, but this is the data we have right now.
– For what it’s worth, some national publications had been calling on Dems to do exactly this, invest in the Texas and Florida Senate races. I wouldn’t say they made this happen, but they did have good timing.
– I don’t know how much and what kind of TV you watch, but most of the Ted Cruz ads I see are during football games (both college and NFL), while Colin Allred has been a regular presence during The Bachelorette and The Golden Bachelorette. Make of that what you will. Also, Ted Cruz ads during live sports are the worst, which is why I advise keeping the remote nearby. I can usually hit “pause” by the time the “I’m Ted Cruz and I approve this message” disclaimer is read. I take a breath, being glad to have avoided that crap, wait 30 seconds or a minute while reminding myself that all decent people loathe Ted Cruz, hit the “skip to the end” button, and get back to business.
❤️ for Dem support.
for comments.
I’m seeing those ads pretty much anytime I turn on the TV, even when streaming YouTube.
I keep paying extra for Nexflix for a very good reason.
I have voted Blue since MAGA.
Both are on Astros broadcasts (I guess slightly more Cruz than Allred ads), and I have to mute the disgustingly transphobic Cruz ads so I don’t want to throw things at the tv. I’m sure they’ll get even worse if Ted gets more desperate (I seem to recall that the usual tactic Texas Repubs used to do, when they bothered with ads at all, was to call the Democratic candidate the most liberal liberal who ever liberaled).
I agree with Allred on about 95% of the issues and will be voting for him. That said, I don’t believe transgenders should be allowed to compete in female sports (for my reasons, see link # 1). In summary, it’s an issue of fairness and women’s rights. Most Texans agree with me on that issue (link #2 below). Reasonable people can disagree on this issue without being transphobic.
Cancun Cruz is actually pretty smart to run those overly dramatic ads. If Cruz can get enough undecided voters to focus on that one issue, that could be the difference in a close election. Allred’s ads are also very effective (focused on abortion, bipartisanship, border security, Cruz only caring about Cruz), but supporting transgenders in women’s sports is probably Allred’s weakest position.
LINK # 1:
https://www.harriscountydemocrats.com/post/in-support-of-texas-h-b-25-safety-and-fairness-for-female-athletes-in-school-sports
LINK # 2:
https://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2023/august-2023/08292023-transgender-rights-survey.php
The small silver lining about Cruz’s horrible transphobic TV ads was that they made me forget, for a few seconds, the nightmare that was the Texans-Vikings game.
Ted Cruz is such an asshole.
Males and sports keep Fox going. I quit watching sports in the 1980s and never looked back.
I am not sure how effective repetitive TV ads are either, but I can see why the performance of the state parties in the last election did not inspire investment. That is too bad. We can get rid of Ted Cruz, we need your help, so please volunteer. Just go to clubsinaction.com and find an activity in your area. There are canvassing, phone banking, and postcarding opportunities, so you can find something you are comfortable with. You will be communicating with Democrats, not confronting trumpers. The few Republicans I have encountered were polite, with one door shut in my face.
It is really important that we turn out low-propensity voters; if you are itching to Do Something, this is your ticket— https://clubsinaction.com
I agree completely with Greg. I’m a biologist, and one of my major pet peeves is people who ignore science when it inconveniently won’t align with their preferred political narrative. Concerning LGBT people, most of the reality denial I see comes from the right wing. But the women’s sports issue is where some of the left wingers stick their fingers in their ears and say “Na, na, na I can’t hear you!” The inescapable biological fact is that when it comes to athletic performance, testosterone matters, in multiple ways.
Definitely not voting for any R’s, despite this very narrow point of agreement that women’s sports should be for the XX people.
Less than 1/2 of one percent are transgender in this country; that is a lot of worry about something that probably won’t happen to anyone we may know.
Better odds of winning the Powerball lotto.
I guess it is like people who eat cats and dogs. I am sure that some people eat pets; if they get hungry enough, they have been known to eat the same species.
I agree with you, Meme. Still, I get a sense that Cruz’s attack ads on this issue are effective. Allred needs to find a way to blunt those attacks.