Texas may not be a battleground state, but Republicans are making sure their anti-LGBTQIA+ messaging reaches voters, according to the Texas Tribune.
To that end, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and the Republican Party of Texas have coordinated to buy $6.7 million in ads, the biggest of the campaign to widen his narrow lead over Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Colin Allred, per the Tribune. (They must not have liked the ad about the Marine dad who called Cruz an embarrassment to the state for not helping free his captive son.)
In two new ads, Cruz attacked his Democratic opponent, saying Allred’s past legislative activity is evidence the Dallas native doesn’t know “the difference between boys and girls.” Allred supported the Equality Act and voted against a 2023 bill in Washington that would’ve defunded schools and colleges that allow trans athletes to compete.
“Disgusting, false attack, and another example of how Ted Cruz only wants to divide Texans,” a spokesperson for Allred’s campaign said of the two ads.
LGBTQIA+ groups like Equality Texas have long warned about the harm that dangerous, deceitful anti-trans rhetoric is causing in the community.
“Trans Texans have dealt with a lot. They don’t need their lives politicized,” Johnathan Gooch, communications director at Equality Texas told the Texas Tribune. “I think most Texans care about their grocery bill more than they care about anything else.”
Read more at the Texas Tribune.
