Texas politics is a weird beast. People outside the state keep waiting for this massive "Blue Wave" to crash into the Gulf Coast and flip everything upside down, but year after year, the red wall holds. Honestly, the election results Texas Senate battle of 2024 was probably the most hyped-up version of this story yet. You had Ted Cruz, a guy who’s basically a lightning rod for national attention, and Colin Allred, a former NFL linebacker who played it cool and middle-of-the-road.
The money was insane. Like, "buying a small island" levels of insane. Together, these guys raised over $160 million. That makes it the most expensive Senate race in the country for that cycle. But when the dust settled on November 5, the scoreboard wasn't even as close as the polls suggested it might be. Cruz didn't just win; he sort of crushed it compared to his nail-biter against Beto O’Rourke back in 2018.
The cold hard numbers of the Cruz victory
So, what did the actual tally look like? Ted Cruz pulled in about 53.1% of the vote. Colin Allred trailed behind at 44.6%. If you’re doing the math, that’s an 8.5-point gap. Back in 2018, Cruz only won by about 2.6 points.
It's a big jump.
Cruz ended up with nearly 6 million votes (5,990,741 to be exact), while Allred hovered around 5 million. A Libertarian candidate named Ted Brown also snagged about 2.4%, which is actually a decent chunk for a third-party run in a high-stakes race.
What’s wild is how the map changed. Cruz actually flipped 13 counties that had gone different ways in previous years. He didn't just hold his ground; he expanded it.
Why the "Allred Strategy" didn't quite land
Colin Allred ran a very specific kind of campaign. He tried to be the "reasonable guy." He leaned hard into his background as a civil rights lawyer and a former football player, hoping to peel away moderate Republicans who were tired of Cruz’s brand of firebrand conservatism.
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He talked a lot about:
- Abortion rights (especially after the strict Texas bans).
- The January 6th insurrection.
- Cruz’s infamous trip to Cancun during the 2021 winter storm.
But Cruz had a counter-punch for everything. He tied Allred to the national Democratic party at every turn. His catchphrase was basically "Colin Allred is Kamala Harris." In a state where the national Democratic brand is still a tough sell in rural areas, that stuck.
The Rio Grande Valley shift that shocked everyone
If you want to know the real story behind the election results Texas Senate data, you have to look south. For decades, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) was a Democratic fortress. We're talking deep, deep blue.
Not anymore.
Cruz won a slight majority of the Hispanic and Latino vote statewide. That is a massive deal. In places like Starr County—which hadn't voted for a Republican for president since the 1800s—the shift was seismic. Trump won it, and Cruz rode that same wave of momentum.
Why? It sorta comes down to the border and the economy. Cruz hammered the "secure the border" message, and it resonated with people living right on the front lines. They didn't see it as a theoretical policy debate; they saw it as their daily reality.
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The money race was a wash
People like to say money wins elections. In this case, both sides had so much cash they were practically drowning in it.
- Cruz raised about $86.7 million.
- Allred raised about $80 million.
When both candidates have enough money to buy every commercial slot during the local news for six months straight, the "money advantage" basically disappears. It becomes about who has the message that sticks to the ribs of the average voter.
What about the state-level Texas Senate?
While everyone was staring at the big Cruz vs. Allred fight, there was another set of election results Texas Senate enthusiasts were watching: the actual state legislature in Austin.
There are 31 seats in the Texas Senate. Only about half (15) were up for grabs in 2024. Going into the election, Republicans held a 19-12 majority. After the results were certified, they actually expanded that lead.
The big flip in District 27
The biggest drama happened down in South Texas (notice a theme?). Republican Adam Hinojosa managed to unseat the Democratic incumbent Morgan LaMantia.
It was a razor-thin margin—we're talking 49.4% to 48.9%. This single flip pushed the Republican majority in the Texas Senate to 20-11.
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Why does that one seat matter? Because in the Texas Senate, there’s this thing called the "three-fifths rule." You need a certain number of senators to even bring a bill to the floor. By hitting 20 seats, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (who presides over the Senate) has a much easier time steamrolling the agenda without needing a single Democrat to play ball.
Turnout wasn't what Democrats hoped for
For a Democrat to win statewide in Texas, they need the "cities to bleed into the suburbs." They need massive turnout in Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio to outpace the red rural counties.
In 2024, the turnout was about 61% of registered voters. That’s okay, but it wasn't the "historic surge" Allred needed.
Look at Tarrant County (Fort Worth). It used to be the biggest red county in the country, then it flipped for Biden in 2020. In 2024? It swung back to the right. When the suburbs stop trending blue and start heading back to the "red-ish" middle, the path for a Democratic senator in Texas basically vanishes.
What happens next for Texas politics?
Looking at these election results Texas Senate trends, you've gotta wonder if Texas is actually becoming more red after years of being called a "purple" state in waiting.
The Republican sweep of the Texas Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals on the same ballot suggests the GOP brand is still incredibly strong. Even with all the internal drama—like the Ken Paxton impeachment mess—the voters stuck with the "R" next to the name.
Actionable steps for the curious voter
If you're trying to make sense of where things go from here, don't just look at the top-of-the-ticket names. Here is how you can actually track the impact:
- Watch the 2025 Legislative Session: With a 20-11 majority, expect the Texas Senate to push hard on school vouchers and further border security funding. These were the big talking points during the campaign.
- Monitor the RGV Trends: Keep an eye on local mayoral and county races in South Texas. If those stay red in 2026 and 2028, the "Blue Texas" dream might be dead for a generation.
- Check the Secretary of State website: If you want the granular, precinct-level data to see how your specific neighborhood voted, the Texas Secretary of State site has the "Official Election Results" archives.
- Get involved locally: Statewide races are flashy, but the 2026 midterms will feature a lot of local "down-ballot" offices that affect your property taxes and schools much more directly.
Texas isn't a monolith. It’s a messy, loud, and incredibly expensive political landscape. Whether you’re happy with the results or ready to move to another state, the 2024 cycle proved one thing: the road to power in Texas still runs through the rural counties and, increasingly, the border.