Ted Cruz gets backing from Texas Democrat in bid to keep his senate seat

Texas Senator Ted Cruz is making public the support received from a Democratic official as he seeks reelection against contender Colin Allred.

In a rally held in Houston, Cruz announced he has the backing of Democratic Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.

"I want to take this opportunity to endorse Sen. Ted Cruz because he has taken action at a time when we Americans and you Houstonians are sick and tired of hearing why Democrats can't work together with Republicans for solutions," Ogg said during the rally, as reported by KHOU 11. She had lost her primary against challenger Sean Teare and is set to continue with her duties until the end of the year.

Cruz is currently ahead in the polls against Allred, with FiveThirtyEight's survey aggregator showing that the latest study, published in mid-July, has the incumbent with an eight-point lead. The previous poll, from June 30, has a wider, 10-point lead among the 589 likely voters who answered the survey.

It is worth noting, however, that the difference narrowed when polls had a larger pool of respondents. A June 20 study by YouGov, which featured 1,484 likely voters, still had Cruz in the lead, but by three percentage points (47% to 44%).

Another one by the University of Texas at Tyler Center for Opinion Research, which polled 1,144 registered voters, featured a 43% to 39% scenario.

As the elections are less than 100 days away, Allred has began to spearhead a new initiative to gain support. Dubbed a "Texas Offense," in reference to his past as an NFL linebacker, Allred is set to increase investments and campaign appearances with this purpose.

At the same time, he is choosing to keep presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris at arm's length to increase his chances.

On a recent appearance on MSNBC, Allred was asked about how Harris' ascend to the Democratic ticket may affect his campaign. His response was a polite five-second comment, "Vice President Harris was a member of the congressional Black Caucus and I've known her for some time and I support her nomination."

For the rest of his response, he turned to his opponent, denouncing Cruz's role in blocking the bipartisan border security and immigration bills, opposing abortion access and leaving the state for Cancun when millions of Texans had lost power in their homes in 2021, The Texas Tribune reported.

Although he has shown his support for Harris, it has consistently been cautious. When President Biden first dropped out of the race, Allred's office released a statement applauding his legacy, without mentioning the Vice President. His official endorsement then came in the form of a clarification his campaign made to reporters, after Biden and other Democrats showed their support for Harris.

This is a tactic the Cruz campaign has also noticed, as they try to both tie him to Harris's political record but also questioning his motive for keeping distance from her. "[Is] Can't Comment Colin hiding from Border Czar Harris?" the Cruz campaign said in a statement, using a moniker the campaign has used to attack Allred.