Texas voters are sending incumbent Republican Ted Cruz back to Washington for a third senate term after one of the most closely watched races in the nation, early election results show.
Cruz secured 54 percent of the vote, while his opponent, Democrat challenger Colin Allred, got 44 percent, according to the Associated Press.
Cruz was, by most measures, real estate’s clear favorite. An analysis of campaign contributions shows industry veterans and up-and-comers in Texas real estate poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into PACs for and donations to Cruz, highlighting their faith in the Republican party’s business-friendly policies and promises.
Mehrdad Moayedi — a rising star in large-scale North Texas development, who bought one of Trump’s private jets for $10 million and pumped $100,000 into the former president’s election PAC in May — has given Cruz $6,000 since last year, according to OpenSecrets. Another prominent figure in North Texas real estate, Rex Glendenning, broker-owner of Rex Real Estate and also a longtime Cruz donor, has spent about $5,800 on Cruz’s campaign since 2023
Allred, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, former National Football League linebacker and Dallas native, failed to gain the affections of real estate titans in his hometown, despite breaking multiple fundraising records throughout his campaign.
A debate hosted by WFAA in Dallas last month gave voters one of the most salient glimpses of how the two candidates viewed the real estate market, as Cruz and Allred sparred over housing in Texas.
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Allred drew from his experience boosting federal mortgage assistance programs and Section 8 vouchers in Obama’s U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department as he pointed to low housing supply as the root of the affordability crisis. He said he’d support legislation to build more affordable housing when asked about Vice President Kamala Harris’ $40 billion housing plan.
Cruz didn’t directly address housing except for a jab at undocumented immigration, which he identified as the biggest stressor on housing costs.