Democrat Colin Allred leads Republican incumbent Ted Cruz in the race for the U.S. Senate.
According to The Associated Press, Allred, a U.S. representative from Dallas, has 49.9% of the vote to Cruz’s 48.1%, with 48% of the votes counted.
Cruz, from Houston, is a former attorney general from Texas who is seeking his third term in the Senate after first taking office in 2013. Allred, from Dallas, played professional football before becoming a civil rights attorney.
In Tarrant County, Cruz rose by about 2 percentage points. Cruz won 50.02% of early votes in Tarrant County to Allred’s 48.09%, according to unofficial early voting figures from the county.
Texas has two senators with six-year terms who are eligible for staggered re-election. Cruz was last reelected in 2018 when he narrowly defeated Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat who previously represented El Paso in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The race has gained national attention as Democrats try to maintain control of the U.S. Senate. Recent polls show Allred leading Cruz by an average of less than four points.
Democrats, with the help of independents who vote with them, hold a slim 51-49 majority in Washington’s Senate. Outside of Texas, Democrats are working to defend seats in Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
If Texas were to rule in favor of the Democrats, they would be one step closer to retaining control.
Allred is in Dallas and Cruz is in Houston as results come in Tuesday night.
