HOUSTON — The race to determine whether Republican Sen. Ted Cruz will continue representing Texas is tight, with oil and gas in the thick of the senator’s closing push against his Democratic challenger.
Rep. Colin Allred’s rising poll numbers are catching the attention of national observers because Texas has not elected a statewide Democrat since 1994. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, was in Houston last week — though it remains to be seen if her visit will help Allred pull off an upset.
As the Senate race nears the finish line, Cruz is working to link Allred to national Democrats, with particular attention on energy. High prices, Cruz said during a recent debate, “are the result of Congressman Allred and Kamala Harris’ war on Texas oil and gas.”
While U.S. oil and gas production has reached record highs during the Biden administration, some in the industry have pointed to Harris’ 2019 call for a ban on fracking. Harris has since walked back those comments, saying that the country can still support clean energy without halting the widely used drilling process.
