WATCH: Democrat appeals to his faith in denying his record of voting for men in women’s sports

Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, brought up his faith in an attempt to deny his own voting record on men who identify as transgender competing in women’s sports during a candidates’ debate Tuesday night with incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

Debate moderator Gromer Jeffers Jr., a political reporter with The Dallas Morning News, asked Allred about Cruz’s political ads claiming that Allred refuses “to protect the integrity of women’s and girls’ sports.”

“Let’s be very clear about what’s happening in this campaign,” Allred responded. “You don’t have to be an NFL linebacker to recognize a ‘Hail Mary’ when you see one.”

The Democrat, a former NFL linebacker for the Tennessee Titans, claimed that Cruz’s attack ads represent “a desperate, last-second attempt by Senator Cruz to distract you because he can’t defend his own record.”

“Listen, I’m a dad, I’m a Christian, of course I don’t support these ridiculous things that he’s talking about,” Allred added. “What he wants you thinking about is kids in bathrooms so you’re not thinking about women in hospitals.” He then pivoted to the issue of abortion.

Cruz, however, brought up Allred’s own voting record from his three terms in the House.

“Four times, he has come out for men playing in women’s sports,” the two-term senator said. He directed the audience to a website his campaign created called AllredFacts.com.

Cruz noted that Allred voted against HR 5, the Parents Bill of Rights Act, which would have protected parents’ “right to know if their child’s school operates, sponsors, or facilitates athletic programs or activities that permit an individual whose biological sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for individuals whose biological sex is female.” While the bill passed the Republican-majority House in March 2023, it did not progress in the Democratic-majority Senate.

Cruz also cited Allred’s vote against HR 734, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. That women’s sports bill also succeeded in the House and failed to progress in the Senate.

The senator also noted that Allred co-sponsored H.Res. 269, a resolution calling for a “Transgender Bill of Rights.” That resolution called on Congress to amend federal education laws “to ensure that they protect students from discrimination based on sex, including gender identity and sex characteristics, and guarantee students’ right to participate in sports on teams and in programs that best align with their gender identity.”

In closing, Cruz brought up a letter that Allred signed last month, calling on Congress to approve of drag queen performances and experimental transgender medical interventions in the military.

“Just two weeks ago, Congressman Allred joined 100 radical Democrats in demanding that our military allow drag shows on military bases, pay for soldiers to have sex changes using taxpayer money, and pay for children to be sterilized and have sex changes on military bases,” the senator added.

Cruz leads Allred by four points in the RealClearPolitics polling average for the U.S. Senate race in Texas. In 2018, the senator defeated then-Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, by a narrow 2.6 percentage points. While Texas heavily favors Republicans, Democrats have targeted the state due to its large Hispanic population.

A 2023 University of Houston survey found that 68% of Texans support a ban on men competing in women’s sports, while only 16% oppose such a ban.