Rep. Colin Allred gave an emotional firsthand account of the Jan. 6 riot as he experienced it from the House chamber at Tuesday’s Texas Senate debate, adding that his opponent, Sen. Ted Cruz, was responsible for the mobs. Cruz tried to laugh it off.
“You can’t be for the mob on Jan. 6, and for the officers. You can’t,” Allred said. “And it’s not funny, because you’re a threat to democracy.”
Allred’s telling of the insurrection came in the broader context of Democrats campaigning on Jan. 6 to win over voters who are not Democrats. To make that case, they’ve relied on high-profile Republican figures like former Rep. Liz Cheney, who endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race as well as Allred’s campaign. Allred, who is running in a state where he would have to appeal to many Republican and independent voters to stand a chance, made sure to highlight Cheney’s endorsement.
Allred said he remembered exactly when Cruz objected to Arizona’s presidential election results before describing having to put gas masks on because police used tear gas in the Rotunda.
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“We barred the doors the president walks through to deliver the State of the Union with furniture that we usually use to hold paper,” Allred said. “I texted my wife, Aly, who was seven months pregnant with our son Cameron, and home with our son Jordan, who wasn’t yet 2, ‘Whatever happens. I love you.’”
Allred, a former NFL player, said he was “prepared to defend the House floor” and pushed the blame onto Cruz for the mobs, calling him the “architect of the attempt to overthrow that election” and pointing out that he hid in a supply closet. “You cannot just be patriotic when your side wins,” Allred said.
Cruz brushed it off: “The far left, they’re so angry right now. There’s so much hatred. You know, Congressman Allred just snarled at me: ‘You’re a threat to democracy.’”
When asked if Jan. 6 rioters should receive a blanket pardon, Cruz pivoted to his record of supporting law enforcement.
“I think anyone who commits an act of violence should be prosecuted, should go to jail. If you assault a police officer, you should go to jail for a very long time,” Cruz said.
The candidates also sparred over other issues including abortion, transgender rights and border security during the hour-long debate, all topics their campaigns have focused on in attack ads.
Democrats hope Allred’s campaign, which is still considered an uphill climb given the state’s conservative tilt, will expand their Senate battleground map, given that they’re defending tough seats this cycle. Cruz and Allred are facing off in what polls show is a tightening race, with Allred trailing by less than 5 percentage points since September.
Allred also mentioned Cruz’s travel to Cancún during Texas’ deadly winter storm in 2021 several times, as Cruz plugged his campaign’s website about Allred’s voting record throughout the debate.
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Emily Kennard is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
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