AUSTIN, Texas — In their first, and likely only, U.S. Senate debate, hosted by the Texas AFL-CIO, candidates Roland Gutierrez, Colin Allred and Carl Sherman vowed to spur change in the Lone Star State if they secure the Democratic nomination by flipping the Republican seat currently held by Ted Cruz.
The topics up for debate ranged from gun safety to immigration to abortion, among other issues.
Immigration reform
State Sen. Gutierrez, Congressman Allred and State Rep. Sherman agreed there is a crisis at the border.
"Our border communities are not political backdrops. They're places where real folks live, and they need us to act. And when we have inaction at the federal level, it's our border communities that feel the brunt of that," Allred said.
"We allow migrants to come up, get background checked at home and take one of the 30 million jobs Americans don't want," Gutierrez said.
"Craft policy that allows us to secure our borders, while at the same time having in control a systematic way of processing those who are seeking asylum," Sherman said.
There was, however, a moment during the debate where Gutierrez called out Allred for signing off on a resolution that was passed by the U.S. House criticizing President Joe Biden's "open-border policies."
"The congressman signed a resolution last week – he and 14 candidates – and you know what? I don't call that bipartisanship. Throwing our president under the bus, saying he was an 'open-borders president,'" Gutierrez said.
Allred reiterated the issues that need to be addressed with immigration and responded to Gutierrez's statement.
"It was a tough vote for me. It was a vote that I saw as whether or not we stood for the status quo or not," Allred said.
PHOTOS: Texas Democrats face off in U.S. Senate debate
Abortion access
When it came to abortion rights in the state, the trio all agreed on codifying Roe v. Wade.
"We need to bust the filibuster in the Senate. How are we letting 60 votes be the prevailing issue when 70% of Americans want to see Roe v Wade codified?" Gutierrez asked.
"I will work to fight to restore the right for women to have choice," Sherman said.
"We will make sure we restore this right for Texas women at the federal level," Allred said.
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Gun safety
Gutierrez has remained passionate over the need for gun reform across the country following the tragedy in Uvalde where 19 children and two teachers were killed. The state senator said it was his reason for running.
"Every cowardly Washington politician should be made and forced to look at that little girl with no face and every other dead kid in this nation," Gutierrez said.
Allred pointed to the passing of the "Safer Communities Act."
"We can't stop there, we have to build on it," Allred said.
Meanwhile, Sherman highlighted the statistics of the number of deaths caused by firearms and echoed that more needs to be done to combat weapons.
However, the trio all agreed the change they are hoping for can only be achieved if Republican incumbent Ted Cruz is knocked out of his seat.
"We have to make sure we actually beat Ted Cruz in this election," Allred said.
Cruz is seeking a third term in the U.S. Senate and is currently the front-runner for the Republican nomination.
The primary election is on March 5.
The last day to register to vote is Feb. 5.