AUSTIN, Texas — After making their final pitches to voters in Texas, one of the most expensive and closely watched Senate races nears the end.
Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic U.S. Rep Colin Allred have raised more than $160 million combined in the race that could determine who controls the U.S. Senate.
A win for Allred would make him Texas' first Black senator and give Democrats a huge boost in maintaining their narrow Senate majority. A win for Cruz would mean a third term for the polarizing Republican's unapologetic approach.
How long has Ted Cruz been in office?
Cruz has served Texas in the U.S. Senate since 2013 after defeating Democratic challenger Paul Sadler. Cruz took over the seat from Kay Bailey Hutchinson, who opted to not seek re-election in 2012.
The Harvard-education Cruz became the first Hispanic to serve as a U.S. senator from Texas. Before that, Cruz was a domestic policy advisor to George W. Bush during the 2000 presidential campaign and served as Solicitor General of Texas from 2003 to 2008.
Who's running against Ted Cruz?
Allred, a Dallas native, is a former NFL linebacker who played college football at Baylor. After a severe neck injury during a game against the Dallas Cowboys, Allred retired and enrolled in law school at the University of California, Berkeley.
Allred first considered going into sports law, but got into Texas politics in 2014 while working as a voter protection lawyer for then-gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis and Democratic political group, Battleground Texas. Allred was then elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018, defeating long-time Congressman Pete Sessions.
Previous races
Cruz easily defeated Sadler by more than 1.2 million votes in 2012 but needed everything he could to defeat Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke in 2018.
Only 215,000 votes separated the two, but Cruz managed to use rural and mid-sized counties across Texas to secure his second term. It's something he's leaning on again ahead of Election Day against Allred.
Texas hasn't elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since Lloyd Bentsen in 1988.
Check back on election night to see results after the polls close at 7 p.m.