Texas Rep. Colin Allred, vying for Ted Cruz's Senate seat, maintains distance from Kamala Harris' campaign

As Vice President Kamala Harris becomes the presumptive Democratic nominee for the November elections and the majority of the party rallies behind her; others— particularly those in difficult races— choose to keep her at an arm's length.

That is the case for Rep. Colin Allred, a Democrat who represents Texas' 32nd District. In November, he will seek to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz.

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, Texas Tribune reports.

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. "Allred has had no issue being a rubber stamp for Kamala's disastrous open border policies for the past three years, but now he won't even be seen with her and Joe Biden in public. Why the sudden change of heart?"

Harris has been to Texas several times in the past month, one of which was in Allred's hometown of Dallas before she announced her run. Allred has not appeared with her at any of her visits to the Lone Star State.

This may be due to the fact that Allred has spent the majority of his campaign appealing to voters in the middle, as he seeks to be the first Democrat elected to statewide office since 1994. He has criticized the Biden administration over its handling of the border, while actively pitching himself as a bipartisan legislator.

"As a strategy, it's probably wise for him to be less than vocal on the issue," said Jason Villalba, chairman of the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation and former Republican state representative. "If she's able to maintain enthusiasm, he'll probably ride that wave but he has to be careful about what happens in the next few weeks on a tumultuous campaign. He's not taking any risks and he's smart to do that."

Allred is relying on a broad coalition that includes large proportions of Hispanic and Black voters, who regularly vote for Democrats, as well as some independent and Republican voters who do not like Cruz and are open to voting blue, to prevail in his bid, according to Texas Tribune.

Harris' nomination would likely boost turnout for Black voters and South Asian voters who may see themselves as the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants. That may energize Allred's chances, but his appeal with voters amid his Harris strategy remains to be seen.