Ted Cruz faces off against former NFL linebacker Colin Allred in Texas Senate showdown: Republicans enter November to save seat Democrats think they can turn blue

Rep. Colin Allred won the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate race in Texas on Tuesday, against eight others vying to take on Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

Allred (D-Texas) won with 59 percent of the vote in the Super Tuesday race — and Texas Secretary of State Sen. Roland Gutierrez finished a distant second with 17 percent.

Meanwhile, Senator Cruz (R-Texas) won his renomination race with 88.3 percent. His two main challengers earned about 5 percent each.

Now Cruz and Allred will face off in the Texas Senate general election in November.

Democrats are hopeful they can turn the seat blue, despite Texas being the largest red state with a predominantly pro-Trump Republican base.

After also easily clinching a renomination, Senator Ted Cruz is set for a showdown with Allred in November’s general election

Cruz easily sailed to victory with nearly 89 percent of the vote in the Republican primary on Tuesday, March 5

Several Democrats and left-wing voters told DailyMail.com during Tuesday’s primaries that they hope Allred can unseat Cruz from the seat he has held since 2013.

Meanwhile, more than a handful of pro-Trump voters in Texas, when asked if any of the Democrats could beat Cruz, said, “I hope not.”

Democrats mobilized Tuesday for Allred, a former NFL player and three-term U.S. congressman.

In 2018, Cruz narrowly defeated Democrat Beto O’Rourke in a general election that was too close for comfort. The incumbent president ultimately won 50.9 percent of the votes, his challengers 49.3 percent.

Democrats hope this is the year they take over Cruz’s seat.

Gene Schillaci, 66, told DailyMail.com as he left his polling place in Dallas, Texas after casting his vote in the Super Tuesday primaries, that he supports Allred because he “has a positivity about him” that contrasts the ‘negativity of Ted Cruz’. ‘

Representative Allred and his wife Alexandra Eber kiss as they celebrate his victory in the Democratic Senate primary in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Allred was a linebacker for the NFL team the Tennessee Titans. He is pictured on the sidelines of a preseason game on August 11, 2007

Gene Schillaci, 66, told DailyMail.com as he left his polling place in Dallas, Texas after voting during the Super Tuesday primaries that he voted for Allred. Of Cruz, he said, “I just can’t imagine how they… dug up this guy, you know?”

“I just can’t imagine how they found out – where they dug this guy up, you know?” the Democratic voter added.

Republicans are confident that Texas won’t turn blue anytime soon — and with 40 Electoral College votes in the Lone Star State, the GOP can’t afford to lose it to Democrats.

Roger Kelso, 78, of Dallas told DailyMail.com he preferred Texas State Sen. Roland Gutierrez’s platform over Allred’s, but voted for the man he believes has the best chance to oust Cruz at the general elections in November.

“I think the most important thing we need to do is get rid of the man I call ‘Turd Cruz.’ He hasn’t been good for the state, he hasn’t been good for the country,” Kelso said after the vote Tuesday. “And I think Colin Allred would step in and be the guy.”

Voters headed to the polls in Texas on Tuesday to cast their ballots in the Super Tuesday primaries, which included the presidential and Senate races

Pro-Cruz PAC Truth and Courage released an ad targeting Allred ahead of the closing of polls in Texas on Tuesday

Sen. Roland Gutierrez of Texas came in second to Allred with just under 17 percent of the vote. Pictured: Gutierrez campaigning near a polling place in San Antonio, Texas on Tuesday, March 5

Allred and Gutierrez are joined in the race by state representative and former DeSoto mayor Carl Sherman; Tax accountant Meri Gomez in the mission area; former Nueces County District Attorney Mark Gonzalez; Katy businessman Robert Hassan; law professor and retired Navy Captain Steve Keough; Heli Rodriguez Prilliman, a Fort Worth entrepreneur; and Thierry Tchenko, a political organizer in Houston.

Artist Joe Brock, 55, said he also voted for Allred during the Democratic Senate primary.

“I definitely want Cruz out. He’s a snake,” Brock said, adding of Allred, “I think he’s a good politician. He is strong. We need fresh blood.’

One Republican expressed confidence that Cruz will not be impeached by a Democrat, simply saying “no” when asked if there was any concern he would lose his seat.

One thing Texas Democrats and Republicans seemed to agree on was that immigration is at the top of their minds as they cast their ballots in the primaries.

Democrats argue that Republicans are blocking any real progress on this issue, while Republicans say the opposing party wants open borders and massive illegal immigration.