Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said she would be backing Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) in the Texas Senate race, endorsing the House member over the Republican incumbent, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
“I want to say specifically, though, here in Texas, you guys do have a tremendous, serious candidate running for the United States Senate,” Cheney said during her Friday appearance at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, stopping as she was cut off by a raucous applause.
“Oh, well, it’s not Ted Cruz, but Colin Allred is somebody I served with in the House, and somebody who really, when you think about the kind of leaders our country needs, and going to this point about, you know, you might not agree on every policy position, but we need people who are going to serve in good faith,” she said.
“We need people who are honorable public servants and in this race that is Colin Allred so I’ll be working on his behalf.”
Allred, who is waging an uphill run to unseat the third-term Cruz, thanked Cheney shortly after on social media, saying the former No. 3 leader of the House Republican Conference is a “patriot who continuously puts country over party because she believes in the importance of protecting our democracy.”
“I am so honored to have her support. In the Senate, I will work across party lines to get things done for Texas,” Allred said.
A new Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey, released on Friday, found that Cruz had 48 percent support while Allred garnered 44 percent. Around 8 percent said they were undecided. The same poll released in January had Cruz at 42 percent while Allred got 40 percent.
The Texas senator had a slimmer lead, according to a poll that was released in late August. The survey showed that 46.6 percent of likely Texas voters are willing to back Cruz. Around 44.5 percent said the same about Allred.
During her Texas Tribune Festival interview, Cheney, a harsh critic of former President Trump, also stated that her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, will vote for Vice President Harris in the 2024 election.
The news of her father’s support for the Democratic nominee comes just days after Cheney herself said she would also be voting for Harris, arguing that “as a conservative, as someone who believes in and cares about the Constitution, I have thought deeply about this, and because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump but I will be voting for Kamala Harris.”
“We’re definitely super surprised to hear that Liz Cheney, the poster child of flip-flopping, is endorsing Colin Allred,” Cruz’s campaign spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill. “Two years ago, the voters of Wyoming overwhelmingly rejected her, just like the voters of Texas will overwhelmingly reject Colin Allred this November. But hey, misery loves company.”
Updated at 3:30 p.m. EST. on Sept. 7.